


Seduce Me: The Fall (M)

by Mysterie



Series: Seduce Me [2]
Category: Seduce Me the Otome (video game)
Genre: F/M, Matthew_route, follows_game_play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-08-12 04:32:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 37,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7920610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mysterie/pseuds/Mysterie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mika Crosstar has to impress her guests and her parents at an impromptu housewarming party the evening after she'd moved into the house, that had belong to her late grandfather who had only just passed away two days prior. As if having unexpected house guests in the form of the incubi brothers and being forced into moving in wasn't enough; with the end of the party, Mika thinks she can take a breather until the one that attacked the brother shows up at her front door! Will her life ever be any resemblance of normal? At the end of the day, when it's all said and done.... does she want it to be? Knowing that if she says yes to that question... the boys will walk out of her life forever...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Matthew

Matthew seemed to be the best choice in Mika’s mind, he was outgoing and the most laid back of all of them. She’d likely have the easiest time getting along with him. Plus, cooking was fun; it wasn’t just that, if she were honest with herself. The “kid” that Matthew seemed to be intrigued her. The others seemed to treat him like the youngest of them, but he obviously wasn’t and there was a sense about him, perhaps the maturity that he was hiding beneath the cheerful smile and facade of his, that seemed to draw her. He was definitely not what he seemed. Where was the young man behind the “boy?” She wanted to know more about this man who seemed to shy away behind “childish” things. His expression always seemed so innocent and yet... because it was, she knew it wasn’t. Perhaps his older brothers didn’t realize it, but their own facades were very... obvious. Erik, the reluctant flirt... afraid of being himself, perhaps because someone pushed it onto him that he had to be such a flirt... James, the reserved and responsible brother... because he was the eldest and so had been pushed to be so.... Sam, the “tough guy” who was hiding behind crudeness and coldness because someone had taught him that if he didn’t strike first... that he would be the one that was hurt. Damien... he was the quiet one... there were many reasons for that likely, too many for her to know, but one of them was the reason he rarely spoke. Someone had pushed on him that he was to keep quiet. Matthew, on the other hand... now there was a mystery. She headed to the kitchen, she had taken time to decide after each of the brothers had already parted ways to get their individual tasks done. When she got inside she saw that Matthew was leaning over a counter, quickly slicing up strawberries and placing them in a nearby bowl. His strokes were quick and precise, it was interesting to watch as she moved over him and looked over his shoulder. Matthew didn’t seem to mind really, so after a moment of watching she decided to ask.

“What are you making?"

“I’m going to make a large batch of strawberry cupcakes. These strawberries are going to be the top pieces.”

“Ooh! That sound delicious! Can I help?”

“Yeah! I kinda hoped you would, haha! Can you start by making the batter for the cupcakes? I put the ingredients and some directions on the counter over there.” She nodded before heading over to an adjacent counter, where a string of ingredients and a small note card of directions sat at the ready. His words hadn’t flown over her head though... he’d hoped she’d help? Did he... _like_ her? As she began to work, a slight blush crept over her cheeks at the thought; it was too early for that sort of thing. _I’m being silly! We’ve barely known each other a full two days! There’s no way he could be thinking like that and I certainly shouldn’t be... although... he is cute._ There was no  helping that last thought as there was plenty of fact in it. She mixed the ingredients and then poured the batter into the awaiting cupcake tins to bake. She had to admit that she’d made a bit of a mess while she’d prepped the cupcake batter, but she felt that the cupcakes would still turn out fine.

“There we go! Now we just need to wait.” She said, looking at the soon-to-be-cupcakes that were beginning to bake. As she turned to face Matthew, however, she noticed that his face was red. She tilted her head slightly before he walked over to her and moved his hand a bit towards her face. He stopped, however, looking at her for permission. She couldn’t fathom why he seemed to be asking permission, but she nodded a little; he then continued to move his hand towards her, gently brushing a finger over her cheek. She swore her senses tripled at the barest of touch as she felt his finger wipe over a small stain of powder and cream that had managed to land on her face. Her cheeks growing warm.

“You uh... got a stain...” _Did he just use that as an excuse to touch me?_ There really wasn’t an 'or' option. Especially since he’d hesitated, as if he felt she might take offense by him just touching her; something that just seemed too odd. Matthew’s finger was ginger and timid as he wiped the stain off with as little contact as possible. Lightning seemed to shoot through her body at each wipe, running down her spine in jolts; he couldn’t be using his powers... they’d all agreed to not do so... _So then why is such a little thing like this so... tempting?_ She closed her eyes, unconsciously leaning into his touch; she wanted more of this, this strange feeling that was making her heart thud even as pleasure at the simple touch was jolting through her. Matthew, however, pulled his hand away; she opened her eyes and looked at him. He was biting his lower lip and had pulled his hand to his chest, as if uncertain that he should have even done that.

“S-sorry, um... I got it all? Hahaha...” The sound of his laughter was quiet, almost a little nervous too in a way, but it was so soft it was hard to tell if there was any nervousness in it. He seemed to smile as usual, even as her cheeks were warm;

“O-oh. Thank you.” He quickly shook his head and grinned his goofy grin at her before continuing to make another appetizer for the party. She blinked a couple of times, wondering if what she’d seen was real... if what she’d felt hadn’t been just some illusion. For that brief moment in time, she swore she’d seen that mask of his slip... had seen the real him. Before she knew it, the hour of the house party had arrived. In her mind, she kept double and triple checking the essentials for the party. Knowing her father, he’d invited his business partners and the executives of the Anderson Company to show her off like some trophy. Not that it would be the first time he’d done so, but she hated that he did. Her thoughts went right back to her reflection though, which stood in front of her; she was staring at her own form as a million thoughts race through her mind. It was just a housewarming party, but at the same time... it wasn’t. It was her chance to show her father that she was better than his expectations. A chance for her parents to see her as a woman. A test to see if she was ready to live on her own. Well, she wasn’t truly alone; she had the incubi to thank for that, but even so. She didn’t have her father guiding her or her mother helping her through living alone. A knock on her door broke her thoughts, surprising her.

“Who is it?”

“Hey, are you okay in there? Your parents should be here soon, so you should hurry getting ready.” Right... Naomi and Suzu had arrived early to support her.

“Well, I’m ready but-”

“But what? I’m sure you look fine, Mika. Just come on out!” Suzu interrupted.

“Alright...” As soon as she opened the door to the hall, she watched her friends’ face turn from smiles to complete awestruck stares at the dress she had chosen. It was a shoulder dress, leaving her shoulders bare but covering her modestly even as there were sleeves that hung just below her shoulders and it draped elegantly over her form to her ankles, it was like a dark crimson curtain that gently hugged her figure. She wore a string of spaced out pearls around her neck and her shoes matched her dress in color. Naomi had chosen to wear a dress that had no sleeves at all and almost seemed like something a younger girl would wear as it was frilly, even if it stopped halfway down her thighs, the white ribbon beneath her chest was tied in a bow and only gave the impression - in Mika’s mind, that it was a dress caught between being adult and being childish. She also wore a headband that matched the bow on her dress, a small bow decorated one side of the headband. Suzu, ever the tomboy, had come in a white shirt and black pants, a neon green coat covered the shirt. A jade necklace around her neck matched the jacket she wore, giving her a sort of odd elegance as it was certainly a mix between dressing like a guy but the jewelry was definitely a sign of the girl within.  

“W-what?”

“Dude, you look hot.” As if she needed more of a reason for the blush already on her face...

“Yeah! You look amazing!! Where did you get that dress?”

“I’ve had it for a while. I just never had the chance to wear it. I figured I might as well bring it out now.” She smiled, glad that her friends approved of it. That was only half the truth though, the boys hadn’t seen her in a dress yet; she wanted to see their reactions. _If I’m being truthful though... there’s only one whose reaction I truly wish to see..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that this is the continuation of the story from where Seduce Me: The Fall left off, this is the line of events if the player chooses to romance Matthew. Also, because I altered the timeline of the story from when it actually takes place in the game, there are elements of the story that are in the game that do not appear in my story. The main character also reflects my thoughts on certain scenes and scenarios, most of which doesn't appear in the game as the player's character has some pre-set thoughts and actions in terms of her personality; since this is the case, and I don't really match up with the main character... I have changed much of the narrative (mostly added to it) of the original story to be more in line with my personality than the one that is given to the character. 
> 
> As mentioned in the first part, this game is more restricted on actual player decisions than the sequel. Certain actions/thoughts in the game are there simply to either progress the story or to be the reason for a certain reaction out of another character. This being said, I hope you enjoy my rendition of this story. :)


	2. The Party

Mika closed the door of her room behind her as she stepped out. As she walked down the hall to the grand lobby, the incubi were waiting for her at the bottom. All of them dressed to the nines as proper servants, each was a little different though, as if to suit their various personalities. While each was dressed in a tuxedo, James had a gold vest beneath his jacket that peeked out, Sam had a green waistband, Erik stood out the most really with his shirt being a dark maroon, Damien didn’t wear any color at all other than what seemed to be the normal tuxedo, but it was Matthew who drew her eyes the longest... if only for a mere fraction of a second. He wore a brilliant blue vest beneath his jacket and he hadn’t buttoned his jacket like James had. The vest complimented his eyes without detracting from the rest of the tuxedo, it was formal for certain but not stifling so... like with James. He seemed almost _too_ proper in her opinion. Still, she couldn’t help the blush that covered her face as Naomi spoke up behind her.

“Whoa!! They really know how to dress well, don’t they?”

“Yeah....” She tried not to make it obvious that she was looking directly at Matthew as her blush seemed to only deepen. She was slightly taken aback at how great the boys looked in uniform; each had the poise of a perfect gentleman, even Sam. They seemed to watch her as she made her way slowly down steps with Naomi and Suzu following her. She felt as if they were knights awaiting their princess, her. It didn’t help the flush on her cheeks, but she shook herself to try and regain her thoughts and be rid of such a ridiculous notion. She was no princess and the boys before her were not knights. James stepped forward to take her hand and walked her down the final step with a smile.

“As beautiful as a princess, miss.” _Ah... not helping... but thanks James._ Instead of saying what she thought she smiled.

“Thank you.”

“So, are you prepared for tonight?” Honestly?

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” There was no denying her nerves, which were on edge about the entire thing, but she had to try. The party was more than what it seemed and she’d done all that she could to prepare for it in what little time her father had actually given her. Now, it was all up to fate. At least it seemed that way. She just hoped she could get through the night without fumbling for answers; there was no doubt in her mind that there would be questions coming from the company members attending. The other boys smiled assuringly at her, which made her feel a little better about everything and reminded her that she wasn’t really alone in this. She looked at her phone; almost as if on cue, the doorbell rang. She gulped, knowing that it was her parents; she could practically feel her father’s aura from behind the door. Sam and Erik rushed to the doors, opening the double doors wide to reveal her parents, both who were dressed in their best. Her father in the same tux he had worn to her grandfather’s funeral and her mother was in an elegant midnight blue dress that was modest, but still elegant.

“Hey mom. Hey dad.”

“Oh my! I didn’t know your bequeathment came with servants....”

“It was probably overlooked. Besides, who would deny good service?” Mika was completely shocked; her parents **didn’t** questions the boys?! They didn’t ask for some type of verification or anything?!? She glanced to Sam and Erik, noticing that they were staring intently at her parents. Were they using their powers on them? Was that something they could do? She decided that it had to be. Her rule had only been in terms of hurting guests, but in this case it was in a sort of self-defense... There was no way her parents would be okay with this otherwise.

“I guess the servants counted as belongings to the house.” She really did NOT want to hear that from her father. The boys weren’t possessions! How could he think such a thing? _Ugh... dad! Then again... he always did think less of those in positions below him..._ She sighed inwardly; at least it meant that the two weren’t going to cause any problems and likely any of the others who arrived wouldn’t question the boys either; likely assuming that they were hired servants, just as they seemed to act. Mika didn’t have much time to think on that though as her mother rushed to give her a big hug; she hugged her back and could smell perfume on her. It had only been a couple of days, but living away from the people who had raised her was hard. Her mother released her and took a step back to look at Mika’s attire.

“Gorgeous. You look so lovely. David, look at your daughter and tell her I’m right.” Mika looked to her father, who was looking around the lobby like an inspector. She stood her ground, waiting for him to look at her as her mother had said to. When he did, he let a small smile grace his lips.

“Your mother’s right. You look like you’re all grown up.” The world around her seemed to stop as her heart pounded hard in her chest; had her dad just... complimented her? On his own accord? Her mother was grinning ear to ear at her husband’s words. She was beyond speechless for a moment, a blush on her cheeks, but soon that faded as she smiled and the world seemed to continue to go on again.

“Thank you, dad.” That was exactly what she’d been hoping for right? For her parents to see that she was now a young woman and not a child; however, his cold face quickly returned as he began to look around once again at everything. She wondered if he hated this place simply for the fact that it had once been her grandfather’s home.

“I assume that you’re ready, then, to impress the rest of the guests, correct?”

“What do you mean?”

“The entire board from Anderson Toys is coming tonight. Even the Vice-Chairman’s son will be coming. All of them will be measuring your potential.”

“My potential?” What ideas had he filled their heads with?

“To become CEO of the company.” _Of course... I should have known...._ She knew that something had been off about this party; it had become more than she’d anticipated. Gulping silently, she nodded in response before glancing over to the incubi, but they seemed too busy being ‘servants’ for her father’s approval to offer any reassurance like they had before. Not that she faulted them for the act, but even just a hint of assurance would have been nice. She glanced behind her to Naomi and Suzu who raised their thumbs at her for encouragement, causing her to let out a small breath as she felt herself accept the situation. She felt like a weight had been consumed and now settled in her gut, but she knew she had to hide it. As if time zoomed forward, all of the sudden the main hall of the lobby was full of guests; men and women in formal or business attire who showed up to meet her and see her new home. She didn’t expect many to come, but she was once again surprised that night as there was quite the crowd. She shook hands with many officials and executive members, putting on the professional face her dad had trained her to have all her life; she felt overwhelmed, but she hid it well behind a small smile and a handshake. Many even asked her questions and she did her best to reply as maturely as possible; she had to remember: say what they want to hear, not what you want to say.


	3. Andrew

Not that remembering that made it any easier to answer the questions that seemed to come at a rapid pace at times. It seemed that someone always had a question for her, whether it was about her future plans or about the company. Mika had to respond easily even while thinking fast about what it was each person wanted to hear rather than what she wished to say. She’d felt like the questions just came up one after the other, the ones that were the toughest to answer weren’t about herself, but the company. After what seemed like a long string of answering various things, eventually the questions stopped and she was able to go back to being herself. Naomi and Suzu mingled through the crowds while the incubi did their “jobs” of being servants; she was all alone in a room full of strangers. It was unnerving to think about, but at least she wasn’t being questioned left and right anymore, being required to give answers that were half truths or not even true at all. Suddenly Mika saw her mother push her way through the crowd to her, bringing along someone that she didn’t know, a young man who looked to be around her age with sandy blonde hair and kind golden brown eyes.

“Honey, I’d like to introduce you to someone! This kind gentleman is the son of the Vice-Chairman.”  From what she could see, he was likely only a couple years older than she, herself, was. He held out his hand to her, silently asking for her hand with a smile.

“Hi, I’m Andrew Lewis. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Crosstar.” She took his hand with a smile of her own. Instead of giving a handshake, however, he raised her hand to his lips and placed a kiss over her knuckles. She felt her face burn slightly at the gesture; Andrew smiled at her before releasing her hand.

“I’m honored to be invited here.” Her mother smiled at the both of them, which made Mika slightly concerned. Why was she excited to introduce her to Andrew?

“So, um... you organized this party very well, Ms. Anderson.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Praise is very much deserved.” He then chuckled nervously, bringing a soft fist up to his lips to cover his laugh properly before smiling at her.

“I’m sorry if I seem a little forward, haha. I’ve just been excited to meet Harold Anderson’s granddaughter.” _Is that all I am to everyone here? Just “Harold Anderson’s granddaughter” ?_ Still, she was curious as to why he seemed so eager to meet her. Why anyone was really.

“Huh? Why?”

“He used to talk about you all the time in the office on how you helped him refine his toys. I only attended meetings and heard all of the stories. You’ve helped a lot with the success of the company without having to actually work there, haha!” _I did?_

“Oh, wow... I didn’t know he talked about me...” That explained everyone’s fascination with her and the rather personal questions. She looked at Andrew, who showed a kind face in return; something about him seemed off and she didn’t know what it was. He seemed to be hiding something. Whether it was good or bad, but she was not able to find out because her father chose at that moment to appear, much to her annoyance. She glanced over her shoulder at him, he was giving Andrew his cold stare and she could see that Andrew was suddenly tense because of it.

“So, you’re Jared’s son?” Had she a knife to cut air with... she’d be able to as thick as the tension suddenly became; not to mention almost frigid. Why did her father have to do that with everyone who was around her? Andrew seemed to twitch slightly; whether it was fear or insult she wasn’t sure as he locked eyes with her father. She couldn’t help but feel the tension grow between them. It irked her just how fragile the air had become so suddenly, enough to break at a single wrong word.

“You’re the one who wants to be the next CEO of the Anderson company?” That question annoyed her to no end.

“Well...” Yet she waited to see what Andrew would say to such a blatant question. This guy wanted to take her grandfather’s place as CEO? She had thought that the Vice-Chairmen wanted the position... or was it that he was being pushed towards it like she was?

“David, leave the poor boy alone.” Mika felt some relief in that she wasn’t the only one irritated by her father’s choice of words; especially at his response.

“I’m merely testing the boy’s conversational skills. Nothing wrong with that.” _No, but you’re practically accusing him of wanting to be the CEO, the same position you’re forcing ME into!_ She fumed inwardly.

“Of course not, sir.”

“And polite as well. Interesting.” Interesting? Could he **be** any more insulting?!

“I-if you’ll excuse me...” He quickly retreated from her parents into the crowd of people. Feeling ashamed, annoyed and angered by her father, Mika quickly followed him, wanting to be sure that he was alright. She felt a little embarrassed that her father had put him on the spot like that. She at least felt she needed to apologize. It was her party after all, he’d had no right to do that. They wound up outside. The stars danced on the grass as they stood in the backyard of the mansion. It had been her first time in years being out there, but her thoughts weren't on the nostalgia of the moment.

“Hey, Andrew?” He turned to her in surprise; however, his face was completely red in embarrassed humiliation; she felt even worse.

“Oh, I- um... I didn’t see you or hear you following. Sorry.”

“No, no, it's fine. I should be the one to apologize.”

“What for? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I mean for the way my dad behaved... He shouldn’t have been so...” What was the right word?

“Oh no! No, it’s fine! I mean... I should have expected it and been more prepared, haha!” He rubbed the back of his neck and gave her a goofy grin, not too unlike the one Matthew had given her earlier that evening. It was intriguing, seeing Andrew’s professional side and then seeing a goofy smile, away from everyone else.

“Still, I’m sorry for that.” She felt she needed to say that, he seemed like he had a good heart.

“It’s not a problem, really, but thank you.” The two of them smiled at each other before she reached out her hand to him. He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“Mika. My name is Mika.” Understanding replaced the confusion quickly and his smile returned before he took her hand and gently shook it.

“That’s a pretty name. I’m happy to know it now.”

“Nah, it’s not that nice.”

“I have to disagree with you. It’s much better than ‘Andrew.’ I mean, who names their kid Andrew?”

“A lot of people do!”

“But what about ‘Axel’? Or ‘Ace’? Something cool like that?” She couldn’t help but laugh; he was pretty chill for a guy who was supposed to be a Vice-Chairman’s son. He grinned and laughed along with her. She didn’t know why, but she felt warm. Whether it was the almost non-existent breeze or the sudden situation they found themselves in... It felt... nice.

“Lewis.” The sound of her father’s voice startled her, and just like that, the feeling had vanished. They both turned to see her father at the doors of the mansion, staring at Andrew with what looked like a deadly glare... if looks could kill. Andrew straightened up, trying to maintain a business posture.

“Y-yes sir?”

“Your limo is in the front. The driver has requested that you return home. Now.”

“Oh. A-alright. Thank you, sir.” Andrew quickly nodded to her before speeding back into the mansion to leave. As she took a step to follow him, her father stepped in front of her to block her way.  

“Dad...” _Now_ what was he doing?

“I don’t want to hear it. Do not become friendly with him. He wants to take the company away from us. You have no reason to be friends with him.” Before she could retort, he turned away and walked back inside, muttering about how the party was nearing an end. That didn’t stop her from glaring daggers into his back. Since when did he have the right to tell her who she could and couldn’t become friends with! She didn’t care if Andrew wanted the company, he was at least _nice_ about it! He’d treated her like a person, like the boys had, not like some trophy doll to dress up, show off to others like a prize and push into a life she might not even want without as much as a ‘by your leave’! She couldn’t remember being quite so angry with him at any time before her grandfather had passed.


	4. Devils

With a sigh, she entered the house as well, wanting the party to end immediately; she was sick of her father already and it had only been a couple of hours. Eventually only Suzu, Naomi, her parents, and the incubi were left. Her father walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder with a smile; she stared up at him, a wave of confusion washing over her face. 

“What?” 

“You did good tonight. I’m proud.” 

“O-oh! ... Thank you, dad.” 

“Keep it up and you’ll be a good CEO.” 

“Oh... right.”  _ Not that again.... _

“Alright. Your mother and I have to leave. I’m sure Naomi and Suzu need to leave as well. Just because it’s Saturday doesn’t mean you should stay up all night.”  _ After all  _ this...  _ hardly my plan. _

“O-oh! Right!” Not like she could ever say her thoughts aloud to her father, that would go poorly. Naomi walked over to her first.

“Thanks for having us! It was a great party.” 

“We’ll come visit tomorrow or something, alright?” 

“Right. See ya!” She smiled as her friends moved to the door.

“Goodnight, sweetie. Come visit us soon.” 

“Will do.” All four of them left the building, all but her father waving back to her. With the last of the guests gone, Mika sighed and sat on the staircase, exhausted. The incubi gathered over near her. 

“Phew... That was tiring...” 

“It’s not like you had to do any work, though.” Of course Sam would say that. 

“Give her a break, man. She was getting interrogated left and right!”  _ Thanks Matthew... _

“She handled herself the best she could.” Damien added.

“As expected, princess.” She couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Since you’re exhausted, why not head to bed? We can clean up.”

“Ughhhh!!!” 

“Hush, Sam.” Erik gently rebuked him. 

“Are you guys sure?” 

“Positive. It shouldn’t take long!” Matthew always did seem the most upbeat of them, his smile was infectious. 

“Oh-ho-ho! It didn’t take long to find you little shits, after all!” Her mouth dropped open in surprise... she knew that voice! It appeared the boys did as well. She felt a hot shudder go down her spine; it was the voice from her dreams! She looked around, panicked, alongside the incubi. James place a hand on her shoulder, trying to remain calm. 

“Don’t worry. No one will hurt you.” He said evenly.

“Are you sure? Are you  _ really _ sure?” Their heads shot towards the doors, finally pinning down the direction of the voice. The doors swung open quickly, revealing a sight Mika would never have expected to see. A young man stood, skin red as blood, black and gold eyes piercing into hers from beneath a mop of white hair, roughened-up clothes and a pistol in his hand; she saw a monster. A hand covered her mouth so not to scream at the sight. Dried blood covered the red bandana round his neck as he smirked at the group. Beside him was a similar looking woman in matching thug-like clothes with red eyes beneath flame-like hair.

“Awww, what’s the matter, boys? You really didn’t think I wouldn’t find you, did you?” 

“I hoped you would, you piece of-” Sam didn’t get a chance to finish as the man raised his gun at Sam’s face and instantly pulled the trigger. A shot rang out through the air, everyone gasped in shock, expecting to see a bullet run through Sam’s face... but... 

“Wha... What the fuck?!” Nothing had happened. 

“W-wha...” Sam was just as shocked as everyone else. Why hadn’t the gun worked? What should have been a headshot ended with a loud, but empty blank shot. The pistol echoed it's empty shots as the man grew more and more pissed, pulling the trigger over and over in aggravation. Luckily, for Mika’s ears, it became quieter after the first shot. 

“Why the fuck won’t you work?!” 

“This place is protected.” Damien spoke up. 

“What did you say, shrimp?!” 

“This place has a seal, protecting it from Hell-borne magic.” 

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!” Mika thought about it a moment, she didn’t fully understand herself, but she sort of grasped the idea. Sort of like some element from some of the fantasy comics Suzu read every once and a while. The man growled and threw his gun at Sam who ducked in time. The pistol bounced off the ground a couple of times before sliding further away, hitting the wall in a final stop; once it stopped moving it faded into black flame that then disappeared into the air. 

“The previous owner had this place protected by magic, Malix.” Matthew replied, Mika could see that he was just as ready to fight as the other boys were if it came to that. She’d never seen Matthew angry until now. Malix. That was his name. His existence resonated in her memory from the dream that she’d had; yet she looked at Matthew with the same confusion that Malix did. Her grandfather had the place protected by magic? How had he? How had he known? 

“This place is protected by... magic?” 

“It would seem that your grandfather had some sort of protective barrier put around this house. From the looks of it, it only disables Hell-borne magic.” James put in, could he actually  **see** the magic? If so... could the others? Malix’s face was soon overcome with extreme anger, his fists tightening at his sides as if he was crushing a stress ball and Mika had a feeling that if he didn’t feel out matched... he might have resorted to punching. 

“Then what’s stopping me from dragging YOUR ASSES OUT AND SHOOTING YOU THEN?!” What indeed? Out of pure instinct that surged through her, Mika stepped forward, placing herself between Malix and the boys. With no power, Malix couldn’t really fight and she took that chance to stand up to him instead of being powerless like she’d been in the dream.

“Leave. Them. Alone.” Malix stared wide-eyed at her words. She could almost feel the boys do the same from behind her; then Malix smirked and leaned in nose to nose with her. 

“And just who the fuck are you?” 

“That’s none of your concern.” 

“You got a big mouth, nameless bitch. You best be careful who you speak to.” As if sensing his intention, she ducked underneath Malix’s incoming hand as it shot out. She stared at his hand, and the black flame tattoo embedded on it,in surprise as she took a couple steps back from him. Matthew and Damien instantly stepped in front of her, guarding her from a second attack from Malix. 

“Hehehe. A quick one! I’m liking you more and more!” 

“Back off, Malix!” 

“Don’t start acting tough, you pathetic excuse of a demon. You need more protection than her...” Mika gritted her teeth at the implication. 

“Shut up!!”

“Awww, did I make the little Matthew cry? Why don’t you just GROW A PAIR?!” She glared daggers at Malix from where she stood behind Matthew and Damien as Matthew growled in response. Far as she was concerned, Malix wasn’t even half the man Matthew was. 

“Enough, Malix!” The woman spoke up; she’d been standing in silence the whole time; she planted a firm hand on Malix’s shoulder and he looked back at her with a growl and a glare that might kill if looks could.

“Since when did you get the guts to speak out of place?!” 

“We both know you’ve never controlled me. I want them dead just like you do, but now’s not the time.” 

“Fuck off. I know what I’m doing.” 

“Do you? Even if you did fight them, there’s five against two. We’d never win.” The she-devil... thing... spoke the exact words that Mika was thinking of just then. This wasn’t a fight in his favor. He’d have to be an idiot to attack them.

“SHUT UP!” 

“LET’S GO, MALIX! WE’RE WASTING OUR TIME!” The two growled at each other; if they could have used their magic, she swore she could sense that fire would have glowed from under their teeth as they glared at one another. Malix grunted and turned to glare back at the boys. He pointed at James, as if wanting to use his fingers like a knife or something like it. He laughed.

“Just wait, pretty boys. We’ll get you and fuck you up  **real** good. Ahahahaha!!” Malix then turned to her, moving his finger to point directly between her eyes.

“And don’t think you’re safe. Mm-mm... Step outside. I  _ dare _ you! Wahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!” The two then walked out of the mansion; the doors closed behind them by some invisible force, leaving the boys and Mika alone once again. It was official. This night had just gotten worse.


	5. Exploring

She felt her knees give out from under her, forcing the boys to move quickly to catch her to make sure she didn’t fall.

“Whoa, whoa! Are you alright?” She was too tired from the stress to really register that it was Sam who had spoken.

“Y-yeah... why was he here?”

“He’s been closely tracking us... Our blood trail from the forest must have led him here.” Damien replied, he looked ready to release a sigh at any moment. Matthew growled a little in irritation.

“We should have stopped him and finished it here...”

“For once, Matthew, I agree with you.” Sam said, it was odd to hear. She stood up and rubbed her arms, feeling goosebumps left from Malix being so close. She couldn’t stop herself from shivering in a bit of fear of his words.

“Malix... was he... a demon?” Uncertainty rang in her tone. What had she gotten herself into?

“That son-of-a-bitch is not a demon. He’s a devil.”

“A devil? There’s a difference?”

“Yes. Demons come from a different plane of existence called the Abyssal Plains. Devils, however, come from one of the seven circles of a place humans know as Hell. Despite us not being human, we are very different creatures.” She could hear the disgust in Erik’s tone, it wasn’t like him at all... but then again this night had been anything but normal.

“We actually have brains for one.” Sam seemed to take up the rest of the reply, as if it were needed.

“Devils always like to cause trouble and try to kill or torture others for their own enjoyment. Demons like us know when to use our powers and when not to. We’re not stupid.”

“Devils follow orders from higher ups in their order and their powers only comes from their connection to Hell. Demons all have free wills and don’t rely on where they come from to use their powers.” Matthew was the next to speak up; that was odd, were they taking turns or something? This was all so confusing. Demons, devils and magic all existed and she had happened to manage to land smack dab in the middle of it all.

“What do we do..?”

“You’re safe. You’ve been protected as well.” Damien spoke up again, she was a little surprised James hadn’t said anything yet. Apparently he was content to let his brothers speak up. Wait... protected?

“What?”

“What Damien’s saying is that the magic that protects this place also protects you.” Matthew answered, great... so they were taking turns answering her questions. Finally James spoke up, answering one of the questions she’d thought of earlier but had nearly forgotten until now.

“Your grandfather must have cast it when you last saw him or something of that nature. We can sense it's aura around your body.” She couldn’t believe her ears. This was the third day of surprises and this one took the cake! She felt her head beginning to spin as her mind tried to comprehend all of what she’d just been told. What had she gotten herself into...?

“Miss, please don’t worry. We’ll find a way to train ourselves and become stronger to finally finish this feud.” She glanced from James to the other boys who seemed to share the same opinion on that score. Sam growled.

“I wanna kick his ass **right** now.” She didn’t blame him for that, she’d felt the same way when he’d threatened the boys. _I’ve only known them for a couple of days and yet they’re already like family to me... how can this be?_ She wondered silently.

“Until then, we’ll protect you as much as we can. If Malix comes back, we’ll be here for you.” Erik added and she smiled a little at his reassurance. She knew from their expressions that the boys were all in agreeance, they would help protect her... but she couldn’t simply stay shut up in the mansion.

“But what about going outside? Won’t he...?” She trailed off, she still had to go to school and there was no way she’d be excused from it on the premise that she was in danger from a devil. No one would believe it.

“Like we said, you have a protection spell on you. Even if Malix attacks you, he won’t be able to use his magic on you. He’d be just like any other human you can fight back against.” She looked back over at Matthew, that was only mildly reassuring; if it was just Malix, she could take him, but what if he brought reinforcements or got ahold of a non-magic weapon? Fighting against Malix might not be the best option then.

“Didn’t you say you knew taekwondo?”

“Well, yeah.” She looked at Sam; even so, that skill would be next to useless if he brought weapons like guns to the fight. While she felt somewhat relieved that she was mostly safe from Malix she still could not help but feel very nervous and apprehensive about the future. The boys were safe here to train and become stronger, but what if Malix did the same? That too, was a problem. She was lost about how her grandfather knew about magic, he’d never seemed to indicate that he did; she knew that she would have to find out. At least time was on her side. She went to bed that night feeling nervous despite the reassuring words of the incubi; she felt like a target to something she’d never be able to explain or prove to anyone else. Magic? Devils? Demons? How did all this even happen? Should she really meddle with the situation further?

“They are only staying until after they defeat Malix...” She muttered to herself as she prepared for bed. The thought struck her hard moments later. _That’s right... They said they’d only stay until after they defeated him. After that, my life will go back to normal... Temporary insanity, as K would say..._ The question was, then, would she **want** them to leave? If her life went back to normal, then she’d have to care for the house all on her own; she’d get to focus on her life instead of being distracted by the boys. She’d have to. There’d be no choice once they were gone.

“My life...” She muttered to herself.Where _was_ her life going anyway? She was under pressure from her parents with only her friends and the boys to comfort her. Without the boys, she’d have no way to hide from her ‘responsibilities’... She shook the thoughts from her head.

“I’ll just sleep and deal with tomorrow when it comes.” Defeating her sense of thought, she forced herself to sleep, unsure of what tomorrow had planned; hopefully, whatever the future had for her, she would be ready for it. She closed her eyes then and drifted off.

“I promise to be with you forever...”

“You’re so important to me...”

“I swear I’ll give my life to you.”

“Please, let me love you.”

“I’ll be by your side. Always.”

“I can’t imagine living without you!”

“I want to be with you.”

“I love you.” Mika slowly opened her eyes, letting the voices of her dream echo in her head and force her awake. She rubbed her eyes before sitting up and looking at the clock, even as curiosity filled her; what had that been about? Each of the voices had been different and while they had said different things, she had a feeling that.. In some way or another, they had all meant the same thing. The last of the voices had said it plainly. She almost did a double take. _7 am... Why am I up so early...?_ She shook away the memory of the dream for now as she fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes, trying to go back to sleep; however, something kept her awake. What and why?

“It’s too early to even be alive...” She grumbled at the thing keeping her awake, there was no response; not that she expected there to be. After several minutes she gave up trying to get back to sleep and sat up, staring at the fireplace from across her bed. A sigh escaped from her before she threw her legs over the side of the bed. What to do at seven in the morning... After a moment’s thought she decided it might be a good idea to wander around the house. She never really explored it much as a child, so there were bound to be new surprises. She stood and left the room without changing, she hoped the boys were still asleep or running into one of them could turn awkward real quick. Not that her night clothes weren’t modest enough, but... it just wasn’t proper. She shoved the thought away, she’d deal with that if and when it happened; for now she began to wander the halls at her end of the house, opening each door to find what room each of them led to. After a few doors she found an old office. A desk and chair sat by the far side as a large bookshelf of documents and memorabilia donned it's nooks and crannies. There were some pictures of her growing up peeking form the shelf as she walked further into the room. She didn’t think she’d been here before and when she tried to recall memories of it she came up with nothing as a result. This room was new to her. Did she really want to disturb the furniture? She nodded to herself, gently opening the shelves and any drawers that she saw in the room. In a couple of them were books and even sewing kits. She assumed they were used for her grandfather’s toys and so she left them alone. One drawer, however, was locked; no matter how many times she tried to pull it open.

“Why is this locked?” It wouldn’t budge. The drawer beside it did open, revealing a laptop inside. Why was there a laptop, of all things, in a drawer? She lifted it from it's place in the drawer and carried it over to the desk, sitting down she opened it. It was a high-tech laptop with a retina scanner as a passlock. She was not sure whether to try to unlock it or not. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to try would it? Nothing ventured, nothing gained... as the saying went. So she turned the computer on and leaned her face near the retina scanner, carefully lining the camera up with her eye. To her surprise, she heard a ping come from the computer and she pulled back to see the screen open to a desktop.

“Huh. Look at that.” She muttered. There were documents and folders, all labeled with different aspects of the Anderson company. ‘Taxes,’ ‘Profits,’ ‘Bylaws,’ ‘Products;’ the list went on and on. If she really did decide that she wanted to become the CEO of the Anderson Toys Company, she had everything about it all at her fingertips right here...  Her father would be impressed.


	6. Lunch Time

One of the icons, however, stood out from the rest. Vorago. What could that mean? Curious, she double clicked it, but no window came up; instead, she heard a large click come from the drawer that was locked. She nearly jumped in surprise and looked over at the drawer... what the? Slowly she got up and walked over to the drawer, attempting to open it once more. It slid open smoothly, revealing two books inside. One was a plain black journal with a tie around it to keep it closed. The other was leather bound with cryptic symbols all over the cover. Had she found the secret to how her grandfather knew about magic? She took out the journal and skimmed through it, seeing her grandfather’s notes inside. They were all detailed explanations and opinions on his findings on demon magic. This was proof that her grandfather really did know about magic. She took the journal back to the desk to read through it further, finding drawings and sketches of symbols and magic circles, each with their own different meanings and effects. It was all fascinating. There was even a page with a list of important spells to know. She read through them, trying to ingrain each of them into her mind. She didn’t know what came over her, but she started to feel more energetic and powerful simply by reading her grandfather’s notes. She was suddenly aware of the energy that surrounded her body and the power that was around the house, protecting it. The more she read the notes, the more powerful she seemed to become; however, her mind suddenly froze and she found herself walking back to the drawer, putting the book back, and closing the drawer. The lock reset and she snapped out of it.

“Huh? What?” She shook her head, looking at the drawer as she realized what it was she had done. She walked over to the desk, back to the computer to reopen the lock, but suddenly felt the need to stop. Something held her back and didn’t want her to pry anymore than she already had. She was curious beyond belief about this now, but she obeyed the nudge she felt at her thoughts. Eventually she would come back and look into it further, but for now it was fine. She returned to bed, feeling the weight of the morning drag her back under her covers to try to sleep again. She had energy, but she wanted more sleep now. It was Sunday and nothing was happening today. So she shut her eyes and tried to slow her breathing; feeling herself begin to relax, she thanked her lucky stars that she hadn’t run into one of the boys. When she looked at her phone to check the time again she found that it was noon; yet she felt like she’d slept for much longer than that.

“Why is time going so slowly?” She muttered to herself; with a sigh she got up and changed in a button up shirt with a blue vest over it and pulled on some blue jeans. As a last minute thought, she grabbed a navy blue ribbon and tied it around her neck into a bow. After giving her reflection a quick glance to make sure she looked decent, she headed out into the main hall and sat on the stairs. Sundays were very boring usually; however, the muffled sounds of battle caught her attention. Wondering what could be going on, she hurried down the steps and out to the back yard where she had heard the noise coming from. What she saw made her smile a little in relief; all five of the boys were practicing fighting. Sam was currently in the middle with the other four surrounding him, throwing punches and kicks at him. Sam, being the strongest of the bunch, blocked and dodged each of the attacks almost masterfully. After watching them a moment she decided it was probably best not to disturb them; they were very much in their own little world, focusing on the training. James had said the night before that they would train, so she didn’t want to interrupt; instead, she headed back inside and checked the time when she arrived in the kitchen. She was getting hungry and she was sure the boys would need to eat soon themselves, so lunch was a must. It had been a while since she’d cooked anything, well, not counting helping Matthew with the party. She might as well make lunch for them all today, after all hadn’t they done most of the cooking and such since they’d arrived? It only seemed right that she do something for them while they were busy doing all they could to help protect her and lunch wasn’t particularly hard to make. She looked in the various cupboards and fridge before she decided on what to make. The boys would need to keep up their strength if they were going to train again after lunch, so a simple meal of chicken and rice would be a good choice. The protein would keep up both their energy and their strength. She took her time to make almost perfect chicken breasts alongside the rice. Cooking wasn’t hard unless you didn't know what you were doing in the first place. Once done, she placed the food in the dining room; however, none of the boys were there by the time she’d finished bringing out the final plate with the meal on it. She carried that dish to the main lobby only to catch sight of the boys separating into different rooms of the house. She wondered what was up with that. Part of her wanted to go to one in particular. The other part of her wanted to just leave them be and take the food in her hand to her room to eat. Maybe she could go out today while the boys focused on training; but if she did that, she’d miss an opportunity to be alone with Matthew. She knew what she wanted to do and quickly rushed back to grab a second food dish before hunting down one of the boys; she wasn’t sure which one she’d find though. She looked down each hall, trying to find one of the incubi wandering about so that she wouldn’t have to go through each of the individual rooms to find them. Not seeing them down one hall, she pursed her lips in irritation and head back the way she’d come.

“Where the heck are they?” She muttered under her breath. She sighed, knowing she would have to likely search each room just to find one of them. She headed back to the dining room one last time, but when she arrived she gasped a little. Matthew was crouched near the kitchen doorway, peering into it as if a rat had gotten loose in the pantry and he was the stalking exterminator.

“Matthew?”

“Shhhh!!!”  She shut her mouth, pressing her lips together in confused silence, but fearful as to why she needed to be quiet. She tiptoed over to Matthew, who was still crouched by the entrance. His gaze and head moved across the sight of the kitchen, still trying to find whatever he was looking for.

“He’s in there...” He said in a tone that made her heart skip a beat.

“What?” Matthew’s face was seriously fearful and intense. It made her heart pound in her chest. Who was freaking him out this much? Her mind instantly went to the first threat she could think of. Malix. Why had he come back... and why was in the _kitchen_ of all places?! She began to feel fear crawling through her, remembering the fear she’d felt the first time she’d met him; however, she wasn’t sure about all of this. Something seemed out of place... Where were the others if it was Malix who was inside?

“I lost sight of him, but I quickly found him and cornered him in there. I know he’s in there...” Mika furrowed her brows, he wasn’t being very specific...

“Who’s in there...?” She was afraid of the answer, but she needed to know.

“That... fluffy killer... thing...” Fluffy... killer... thing... ?! Well, that definitely wasn’t Malix! After a moment it became clear what Matthew was talking about and she had to bite her lip to suppress a laugh. Once she had swallowed her laughter down, feeling relief course through her, she let out a sigh.

“You mean that cute doll you made?”

“Yeah, that thing- wait, it’s not cute!” He seemed to instantly regret not whispering and covered his mouth. She couldn’t help but giggle.

“What’s he doing in the kitchen?” Matthew turned to her with an expression of utmost seriousness. Something told her that whatever he said would be cute and funny, but she decided to bite her tongue to not laugh... no matter what.

“I don’t know.” She failed at keeping her laughter completely in check though and started to giggle again. The thought of a doll doing anything **but** sitting there made her giggle for some reason. Matthew tried to hush her, waving his arms frantically to keep her quiet.

“Matthew, Simon’s a doll! It can’t do anything.”

“You NAMED HIM?!” Why did he seem so shocked? After all hadn’t he given the doll to her to cheer her up? What was wrong with giving him a name?

“Of course! Simon Tabby. Cute, isn’t it?” Matthew let out a sound, that was like some sort of defeated whine, before he turned back to the kitchen to try to find Simon from where he was. Mika placed their food on the table and looked as well.

“So, what’s your plan of attack?”

“Well, I plan to make my way through the kitchen as quietly as I can and hopefully not get stabbed.”

“Sounds simple.” He nodded in agreement before finally moving from his spot and tiptoeing into the kitchen. She stood there, unsure of whether or not she should follow suit; her sense of fun and adventure surged so she decided to join the hunt rather than just eat. She followed Matthew into the kitchen; the adventurous side of her was very happy with her decision, but another side of her was questioning why the heck she was hunting for an inanimate object of all things... Not that Simon was any ordinary doll. Matthew slowly walked through the kitchen, scanning the cupboards and surfaces with a meticulous glare. It was both amusing and a slightly frightening to see how serious he could be; after all, this clashed with the usual cheery Matthew she had begun to grow used to seeing.

“Do all of your toys get out of control like this?” She asked after a moment, wondering if this was a common problem.

“No! It’s just this one! I don’t know why, all my other toys were okay.” That wasn’t reassuring.

“Other toys?” He had others? Matthew nodded, stopping his search to look at her.

“That’s what I do: make toys. I made them for my mother all the time back in the Abyssal Plains to help her cope with her position...” _That’s sweet..._

“Her position?”

“She’s the fourth wife of my birth father. Each of us have a different mother and all of them, except for Damien’s, are queens. My mom, though, hates sharing, so I distracted her with toys...”


	7. A Kiss

Mika didn’t know what to say. A demon with multiple wives seemed natural, but she guessed that because she was human... she felt a twinge of disgust run through her veins nonetheless at the prospect. Still, it was adorable how Matthew tried to cheer up his mom with his abilities and very sweet too. She was suddenly reminded of her grandfather and how he made toys all the time for kids. Matthew’s power to make small toys instantly would have been so useful to my grandfather... She shook the thoughts away and began to search for Simon again. 

“Let’s keep looking for Simon.” Matthew nodded before joining in; it was like being in a comedy mystery, looking for a child’s toy instead of a murder weapon. 

“Come on out, creepy thing...” 

“Its name is Simon...” Matthew seemed to ignore her as he began to slowly open the cupboards, sifting through the contents inside each one. She decide to follow suit, starting at the opposite end of the kitchen. Suddenly, a thought struck her.

“Matthew, what do we do if we find him?” She wasn’t even sure they would, he was a doll after all... what would Simon be doing in the kitchen instead of her room?

“We stick him back in my pocket and... uh...” Back in his pocket? What good would that do? He didn’t seem sure himself. She looked over at Matthew, waiting for him to finish replying; however, he kept his eyes on the ground, trying to answer the question but remained in thought. While he figured out what to say, she continued the search through the cupboards near her, unsure now if this plan was going to go anywhere. Why was she even doing this? Simon Tabby was a- She didn’t get to finish her thought as Matthew screamed out, and she heard Simon’s laugh. 

“WHAT THE-?!?!” She turned, Matthew had obviously been surprised and the two of them scanned the kitchen frantically, searching for the source of the laughter.  

“I knew that thing was evil!” Before she could protest, everything went black. 

“WHOA!!” Well, this wasn’t good was it? 

“Who turned out the lights?!” Mika gripped the nearby counter, not wanting to hit anything or fall in the darkness. There were no windows in the kitchen, so the room was almost completely pitch black as the sunlight from the windows in the dining room didn’t reach the kitchen. She could hear something skittering across the floor, it sounded much like a rat rushing to escape with cheese in its mouth. It sounded close and made her jump in fear before she was pushed to the ground. 

“GAHH! WATCH OUT!” She felt herself hit the floor with a body over top of her; two hands were slammed beside her head onto the tiles, stopping the person above her from crushing her. 

“H-hey... are you okay?” Why did he seem to hesitate? The question didn’t linger long in her mind as her heart pounded in her chest at suddenly finding herself so close to Matthew.

“Matthew? Y-Yeah! I am...” She wasn’t hurt anyway, she wondered though if he could see in the dark, considering he’d been on the other end of the kitchen before the lights had gone out. She stared up, letting the situation sink into her mind; the two of them had been looking for a doll and now they were on the ground with him on top of her... Could this have been planned out? She didn't really think so, Matthew really had been creeped out about Simon from the get go and he didn’t seem the type to set something like this up. Her thoughts didn’t help matters though, her heart thudding in her chest like a drum. What broke into her thought was a flash of gold that lit up Matthew’s eyes in the darkness. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, but the air was tense and his body was almost shakey. 

“Matthew, are you okay?” 

“I-I, um...” It then dawned on her that he hadn’t eaten lunch. She heard him gulp after that, as if that would finish answering the question; he wasn’t okay, she could tell, but regardless he wasn’t moving from where he was. 

“Matthew...?” She asked gently. 

“S-sorry... I ... uh...” Soon the golden glow that had only begun to light up his eyes covered them completely. She expected to feel warmth in her body from an upcoming spell, but felt nothing. Something was wrong. 

“I.. I need you to... I need you to push me off- I, uh... I...” There was uncertain hesitation in his tone. From the sound of his voice, he was desperate to get up and off her. Why couldn’t he move? It was like he was being held in place or didn’t have the energy to- Then it hit her. That was it. 

“Matthew... do you need energy?” 

“I-I-I do but I...” Why was he being reluctant now? Hadn’t they all taken some from her to heal the very first evening they had arrived? He shut his eyes, as if he was trying to hide their golden gaze from her. He didn’t want to take her energy? Why all of the sudden? Was he ashamed to or something? It didn’t make any sense. He needed the energy and she was willing to give it. She gently took his face in her hands, tilting his head to angle with her own as she leaned up to press her lips to his. She didn’t know if this would help, but it was how Erik and Sam had gotten energy before. She shut her eyes, waiting for the draining feeling to appear in her. Matthew didn’t move, nor did she feel energy drain from her. She opened her eyes to see that he was staring wide-eyed at her, but unmoving. He seemed unsure of what to do and it seemed that she had silenced him in confusion so she pulled back and spoke.    

“I want to give you some of my energy. You’ve used a lot of it and I’m sure that the energy you took from me before was only used for healing. Let me help you.” 

“I-I, uh... I mean, I really... I don’t...” What was he trying to say? 

“Matthew, if you don’t want my energy just tell me... but I’m offering it to you if you do.” She was also sure that wasn’t all she was offering. Even though she had been the one to kiss him, a tiny jolt had gone through her at the feel of his lips against her own. Suddenly she felt a familiar feeling of warmth run through her body. She felt her body heat up slightly as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her body tighter to his. She couldn’t help feel a shiver run down her spine as Matthew’s gaze became lustful before he brought a hand up to cup the back of her neck. He pulled her into a gentle, but passionate kiss. Heat erupted through her body as his kiss slowly and timidly got deeper. She felt herself sink into the kiss as he kept an arm around her waist while her hands rested lightly on his chest. The energy from her body was slowly draining in the kiss, making her feel light and warm. It was almost pitiful how comfortable and willing she was in this situation. Still, she had no regrets and was enjoying every bit of this kiss. Matthew was full of surprises; as childish as he acted, he definitely was proving to be every bit a man while he was kissing her. He wasn’t forceful, but the kiss was deep and passionate; it felt almost magical. It was how she had imagined a first kiss to be like... except with energy drain. Soon, though, the energy drain stopped and he gently pulled back, ending the kiss. She stared up at him as they both panted for air. She had never kissed like that before and she was so lost in the moment of it that she had forgotten how to breathe. Matthew moved a strand of hair from her face to behind her ear, his eyes were still full of desire. He stared silently at her, unsure of what to say; however, she could tell that he was full... yet yearning... wanting more... just like she was. Even as she felt the hold of his mind-altering spell fade away she still felt hot. Something told her that she wanted more, but at the same time she wasn’t sure if she truly did want to give any more. Time seemed to stretch on in the moments before she made the decision to take the opportunity that had been open to her; she was enjoying it as much as he was and she wanted more. She was going to let him keep going. She  **wanted** to keep going. Having caught her breath a bit, she leaned up and kissed him again. He gasped against her lips, but kissed back; she could feel his fingers pull on the tail of the bow she wore, releasing it. It followed his hand from off around her neck and he slid the ribbon into his pocket before gently unbuttoning the top two buttons of the blouse. The desire in her body was driving her insane, a moan escaped her lips as he rain kisses from her lips down to her exposed neck. As he began to ravish her neck and shoulder in hot kisses, she leaned her head back onto the floor and let a pleasured sigh escape her lips. Matthew was ruthless in his passionate kisses on her skin, he didn’t stop touching and kissing her; making more moans and gasps rush out of her and into the open air. He may have been full, but he was as hot as she was. Her mind couldn’t comprehend how much time they spent making out. She was so lost in the pleasure that she didn’t care. Call it sinful, but she didn’t care. She loved it: his touch, his kiss, his heat. She desired it beyond anything at that moment even as he lowered his kisses down to her chest just above her bra. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. Something about Matthew, from the beginning, had intrigued her immensely, but now something made her heart quicken for him. It couldn’t have been love... they hadn’t known each other long enough for that, but it was too passionate to be mere lust that was moving between them in that moment... So, what was it? The tingling sensations of the kisses against her skin was driving her desire further; however, she began to feel dizzy as well. Feeling like things were starting to spin wildly, she gripped Matthew’s shoulders, trying to signal to him stop... that something was wrong, but her mind faded to black before she could even let out a sound. 


	8. True Name

She felt good. She didn’t care that she’d blacked out; she felt warm and fuzzy in the darkness. She never knew that indulging in that kind of passion would be that good. She now just wanted to awaken, hopefully in a good way. Her eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the sights around her. She felt the familiar silks beneath her, letting her know that she was back in her bed. She slowly sat up, stretching from the tiredness that still lingered. She felt a very soft pain in her neck and shoulders and could feel her swollen lips pulse gently. When she looked down, however, she saw that her shirt had been rebuttoned as if nothing had happened between her and Matthew. She was just missing her ribbon. As she moved to get out of bed, though, she spotted her ribbon on the pillow beside the one she’d slept on. It was tied around Simon Tabby in a nice bow with a small note attached to it. She smiled a little, the stuffed doll still had the same look on its face as from before, but it almost looked smug as she slipped the note from the tie and opened it to read it:

 

I’m really really REALLY sorry! I didn’t mean for it to go that far. Please forgive me... 

  
  


She stared at the note, letting a small smile grace her lips. He went too far? She’d enjoyed it a lot. It was cute though to imagine him apologizing for something that they both had done and enjoyed. She brought the note to her chest, letting the memories of their meeting flood into her mind. 

“I indulged myself too, Matthew...” She murmured. There was nothing to forgive, at least that was what she thought; she set the letter on her nightstand as she looked at the time. The numbers on her phone showed that it was 5:31 pm. 

“Yikes... Four hours of being knocked out... and I  _ still _ feel tired...” She wondered if that was normal. It was Sunday, though, so she was allowed to sleep longer if she wanted to... she felt it was a good idea to and slipped beneath the covers again for a brief nap. The rest of the evening passed by, surprisingly uneventful. The boys continued to train with each other, but were kind enough to stop to make her dinner and she was glad for that. Unsurprisingly, the food they made was perfect, but it felt a little empty without the boys to eat with her. She’d concluded that, mostly likely, they had already eaten, but still she felt lonely. It was a little strange how easily she had gotten used to their presence here; like they had always been around rather than having just dropped in so suddenly only a few days ago. She knew she couldn’t let it bother her, that it did at all surprised her; she merely ate though and went back to her room to study and sleep, not bothering the boys. She felt good going to bed that night; feeling like she could have a peaceful sleep, which was welcome after the previous rough nights she’d had. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt good. She drifted to sleep only to wake up almost flawlessly the next morning. No grogginess, no aches; perfectly energized and bright-eyed. 

“Man, how long has it been since I got that much good sleep?” She mused aloud. She looked at her alarm clock; she’d woken up ten minutes before her alarm. It must be her lucky day today. It was about time! Karma owed her some good luck! After all she’d gone through in merely a handful of days, she deserved it. Ecstatic for the day ahead, she turned off her alarms before they could ring and got dressed. Today was going to be a great day, she could feel that it was going to be. She checked the time, 6:30, she had more than enough time to eat breakfast before it would be time to head off to class. She packed her bag and carried it downstairs towards the kitchen. As she entered the dining room, however, she saw a plate with eggs, toast, and bacon sitting on the table. A fresh steaming cup of coffee also sat next to it with some sugar and creamer on the side. She walked to the table, unable to believe what she was seeing. Someone had made her breakfast.  

“Who made this...?” She muttered aloud in curiosity, but none of the boys were around to answer. They didn’t have to be though as a small, red note caught her attention. She sat down to read it:

 

Have a good day.

 

Yours

  
  


Her heart skipped a beat. She could tell it was from one of the boys. Was it maybe from... him? The thought of Matthew made her heart begin to race a little inside her chest and a light blush covered her cheeks. She smiled and put the note into her bag before she ate up. The food was so delicious that she devoured every amazing bite faster than she had thought possible. She put the plate away and looked at the time once more; it was time to go now. She wouldn’t have time to leave a thank you note this time around. She made a mental note to do so when she got home to whoever had made her breakfast. She rushed to the doors, checking herself in a passing mirror. She wasn’t wanting to impress anyone, but she knew she still needed to look decent; before she could reach the handle of the door, however, someone took her hand. She paused. She turned to see Matthew was holding her hand back with a concerned frown on his face. Huh? Was something wrong? 

“My name...”

“Your name...?” 

“My TRUE name isn’t Matthew... I want you to know my real name if something were to happen.” His true name? What did he mean? Why was he telling her this now? After a moment she remembered reading about a demon’s name from the journal she’d read the day before... If you knew a demon’s true name, you could summon them to you, no matter where you where or where they were. Matthew gently pulled her to him and leaned close to whisper into her ear. 

“My name is Zecaeru.” As he said it, she could feel it lock into her memory; something in her mind would make sure that she would never forget it. She was almost certain that something was magic. He pulled away and smiled at her, despite still having worry in his eyes. 

“If you are in any danger, call my name. I promise that I’ll come and help you.” She stared at him, unable to say anything; she could only nod in response. He smiled before releasing her hand and heading towards the dining room. Something inside her told her that name would be used eventually... She shook herself a little once he was out of sight. She still had to get to school. She made it there without a hitch and the day seemed to be a blur of the usual lessons. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, she went from class to class, had lunch, and was anxious to get home. 


	9. Final Confrontation

As she was walking out of her last class she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. A text from her father?  It said that he’d be picking her up from school and that he wanted to talk to her. She wondered what it could possibly be about. It was kind of a surprise. She got all of her things together and waited outside the building for him. While she waited she watched other students pass her by, listening to some of her music on her phone as she waited. 

“I need to go to another Rise of the Phoenix concert soon...” She said to herself as she listened to the music. She ended up playing the entire album with no one showing up. That was a little odd. Her father was never late, especially not this late. She dialed her father’s number, but as soon as she pressed call it disconnected and the phone had a signal disconnection error message. She frowned a little. 

“Huh? How do I not have a signal?” She could see that her phone had all five bars for a signal, so what was going on? 

“He must be in a dead zo-” She began to mutter to herself, but her musing was interrupted as suddenly hands grabbed her limbs and covered her mouth. A familiar voice yelling.

“HEY! Don’t dirty up Malix’s prey.” She felt a shiver go down her spine as the voice whispered into her ear suddenly.

“You’re coming with me, Ms. Crosstar.” She couldn’t fathom what exactly was happening at that moment, but before she knew it she’d been blindfolded and tied up. She felt herself being carried somewhere and shoved into something that seemed to echo like the interior of a bus or a van. The doors closed and she was taken, unsure of where she was going and why. Though her mind was in a daze, she realized she was in real trouble... For a while, all she saw was darkness; she felt numb as she was taken somewhere she didn’t know. She couldn’t find the will to move her lips to even scream. Sounds zipped past her ears; first of the interior of the vehicle and then of outside, then an echoey place with whispers and cackles of others vibrating through it. At some point she’d caught the woman’s name... Eris. Eventually the wrap around her eyes was removed and her bonds were cut. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but she found herself in a warehouse, surrounded by devils, including Malix, who was smirking at her. She had a sinking feeling when she saw all of this, yes she could defend herself... but against ALL of them? She wasn’t feeling that brave. 

“Nicely done, hahaha! I’m sure those little shits will come running to find you when they realize you didn’t return to your precious little mansion. They’ll search everywhere for you!” She felt a spurt of anger, but she wasn’t stupid enough to just attack them. Malix walked over and set the barrel of his gun against her forehead, straight between her eyes. The moment the metal touched her skin she knew she couldn’t do this alone. She needed help.  

“It’ll be  _ so _ funny when they find your dead body instead.” Mika panicked and screamed out.

“ZACAERU!!!” All of the sudden a bright purple light engulfed the room, forcing her to shield her eyes and the devils around her covered themselves.

“WHAT THE!?!?” Malix yelled in surprise. 

“NGHH!” The brightness of the light apparently affected Eris too. She felt gusts of wind race past her, almost forcing her back. She covered her face with her arms, bracing herself and standing her ground; she tried to peek through to see what was going on, but the light was too bright. As the gust slowly started to die down, the light began to fade, revealing Matthew with his hands shoved in his pockets and his hood up. She had never seen him with his hood up nor had she seen the look on his face she saw now.

“Matthew...” She trailed off, he didn’t answer her; Malix slowly moved his arms from his face, taking in the sight of Matthew a moment before he began laughing hysterically.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! YOU SUMMON THE CRY BABY RUNT?!” Mika felt a jolt of anger go through her again. She knew the boys had been training... surely Matthew would be able to help her deal with the devils. Malix’s laughter was cut short, however; stopped by his gasp of pain and the thud of something embedding itself into his flesh. Mika could barely believe it, she hadn’t even seen Matthew move, but somehow a knife had been stabbed into Malix’s shoulder, causing him to grip at it in pain.

“What the hell... a knife?” Malix seemed just as confused about it as she was. 

“Next time, I won’t miss your throat.” In Matthew’s hand was a matching knife, his eyes were square on Malix; there was something... dark, in his eyes. It sent a chill through her, but it wasn’t aimed at her, and for that... she was glad. Malix snarled before ripping the knife out of his shoulder and tossing it to the ground. He quickly raised his gun and shot at Matthew, resulting only to have him stare wide-eyed at his target. In mid air, a knife and Malix’s bullet clashed and both collided, clattering to the ground between the demon and the devil. Matthew chuckled and pulled a hand out of his pocket, revealing a handful of knives splayed out like a fan. She knew that Matthew knew how to handle a knife, but it had never occurred to her that he would use them in a fight... 

“Too slow, Malix. Must suck being an old fart.” Malix became furious at the taunt, charging at Matthew while shooting rounds at Matthew’s shadow-covered face. Matthew followed suit, rushing backwards and shooting knives at each of Malix’s shots. Each shot was stopped by a flying knife, making multiple clangs beat through the air. The remaining devils stared, trying to figure out what to do: help Malix or watch in silence. Eris, however, walked up beside Mika and crossed her arms as she watched with an amused smirk on her face. Mika found herself torn between watching and helping, but the way this was going... she didn’t stand a chance if he turned that gun on her. She wouldn’t be fast enough to outrun one of the many bullets that Matthew was currently fending off; as he was back into the far wall, Matthew stood still, tossing knife upon knife at the incoming devil and his bullets. 

“Gotcha, you knife-throwing circus FREAK!!” Mika narrowed her eyes, tensing; ready to help if Matthew needed her to... she’d only get one shot. She saw a smirk grow on Matthew’s face, however, before he hopped up and flipped over Malix. The devil skidded to a stop, barely bumping against the brick wall. Matthew, on the other hand, didn’t give Malix a chance to turn before shooting multiple knives into the devil’s back. 

“GRAHH!!” 

“Buh-bye, Malix.” The way he said it let her know this fight was pretty much over, but she refused to relax until it was. Matthew tossed a knife into the air and caught it before chucking it at the back of Malix’s head. The knife, sadly, didn’t get to meet its intended target as Malix ducked out of the way and turned to face Matthew with a look of pure rage.

“You little shit... you think you’re all that.” It made Mika cringe a little, but her opportunity to help Matthew was gone. Matthew brought out another knife and tossed it up and down in his hand, a cool, yet almost playful expression on his face. 

“Little known fact: I just like having fun.” Why was he saying that now? 

“That’s a lot of bull, Matthew. You won’t even fight me in your demon form. Why? Are you afraid that I’ll kill you as the demon scum you really are?” Was Malix insane?! He was full of blades and he was taunting Matthew into using his full power? Wait... there was more?! What did Malix mean by “demon form” anyway? She didn’t understand, but the sound of Matthew’s voice broke her thoughts from trying to figure it out.

“Hey... mind closing your eyes for me?” His voice had become soft, like it always was and she wondered for a moment why. What was it he was trying to hide? 

“Huh?” 

“What are you babbling about now?!” Malix sounded annoyed, as if Matthew had been talking to him; before she could answer him as she began to realize what he was asking, feel in the air in the room went from warm to almost ice cold. It wasn’t that the temperature of the air had changed, but something had... The frantic energy in the air seemed to suddenly still. What could have only been described in tone as the color red turned into a deadly mix of purple and blue; everything around began to blend together all at once. The color seeming to blur out the surroundings like some strange sort of painting.

“You asked for it, Malix. Now, you’re gonna get it.” The echo of Matthew’s voice sent a chill up her spine, not one of fear exactly, but it was a chill that spoke of power... Her eyes never strayed from Matthew’s face, however, even as he began to change. His eyes began to glow a bright golden color as a dark blue circle formed beneath his bare feet. How it was she’d never noticed he didn’t wear shoes, except that one time at the house party, Mika would wonder later on. She couldn’t help but stare as Matthew’s skin seemed to begin to morph and shift, changing from human to... something else. For some reason, she felt scared, elated and incredibly intrigued to see this new form. However, a pair of hands quickly covered her eyes before she was able to see this new form. Instinctively she reached up and gripped them, trying to pull them off. A voice in her ear stopped her though. 

“It’s me. Don’t look.” Damien?! She stood still as his words lingered in her mind. ‘Don’t look.’ Why? What was being hidden from her? She wanted to know, but something in her told her to obey Damien’s command so she didn’t move. She trusted Matthew, and his brothers... and Matthew had asked earlier... As curious as she was, she didn’t think she should disobey. She heard the sound of gunshots, making her tense up, but when the sound of multiple stabs was followed by Malix’s screams of pain she realized she didn’t need to worry for Matthew. Not that it could be helped, but if Damien was here then weren’t the rest? The stabbing and splashing sounds of blood and flesh grew more frantic and in number. How many knifes was Matthew using? On another note... how many did he actually have? Or maybe the question was: how many he could make...? From what she heard though, she thought that maybe it was better that she wasn’t able to actually see what was going on. 

“Matthew! Enough!!” Almost instantly after James’ command, the sounds stopped. The only thing that she could hear now was the dripping of blood. 


	10. Because of Him

“I guess I went a little overboard, huh...?” There was a quiet chuckle in his words, as if something like this was normal. 

“Malix is definitely dead, but you’ve lost your glamor spell.” Erik? So all the others probably were here now. What did he mean by a glamor spell? Why did Matthew sound so different? Was that an effect of his power being unleashed? Why was all this being hidden from her? 

“It’s a spell that makes  _ us _ look human.” Damien answered her question on that, but none of the others that swirled in her mind just then. Look human? They didn’t have human forms after all? Then what did they look like?

“Like demons.”  _ Oh, that’s  _ real  _ specific. _ He didn’t comment on that thought if he was paying attention nor did he seem inclined to be specific. Neither affirming nor denying the various images that popped into her mind as she tried to imagine what each of them really looked like. Erik cleared his throat, speaking up and his words were followed by the sound of a cork popping out of a bottle. 

“Well, not for much longer, princess. Here, Matthew.” 

“Oh, hey! You found my potion. Thanks.” His voice still had that echo-like effect as he spoke, but it was undoubtedly Matthew. She would know his voice anywhere and the change to it hadn’t kept her from recognizing it. There was the small sound of clinking glass as something was passed to Matthew, followed by the sounds of him guzzling down a liquid of some sort. The feel of the air around her gently began to warm back up, insinuating that everything had been returned to normal. Well... as normal as it got with five demons around anyway. A moment later Damien moved his hands from her eyes, allowing her to see her surroundings once more. The devils, including Eris, seemed to have fled. On top of Malix’s body was a dirty sheet that was quickly turning red from blood. The wall behind it was painted red from blood that was still dripping onto the floor and now onto the sheet, which looked more like it was covering a mound of dirt instead of a body...  _ A  _ little  _ overboard?! _ If that was a little... she didn’t want to know what would have been left if he’d gone a lot overboard... Come to think of it... there might not be anything left at that rate. As she focused on what was around her, however, she noticed that the boys had gathered around her; all of them, including Matthew, looking like nothing had happened. 

“What just...” She wasn’t so sure she really wanted an answer to that. Everything about the whole event seemed to zip around her head and suddenly she felt like speaking wasn’t really possible. While her mind was beginning to comprehend things and calm down, her body was a different story. 

“Let’s just get you home, miss. There’s nothing more to see here.” James replied. She could only nod. What had happened boggled her mind to near a point of disbelief, but not quite. While she was second-guessing a few things, lost in the sea of ‘what’ and ‘how’ in her mind as it tried to fill in the blanks of what had been missing. It sent a shiver through her as she realized that maybe she understood just a little too well... She looked to Matthew for some form of a sign that she wasn’t dreaming. That all of that had really just happened. He was rubbing the back of his neck, walking forward at a pace faster than the others; as if to get away from what had happened. It was over. Malix was gone and the boys were finally safe. A wave of relief ran through her body at the thought of never having to deal with that group again. It was followed though by a ping of realization that hit the back of her mind.The boys were only going to stay until after Malix was defeated. That was the deal. As they approached the mansion, she could feel something heavy begin to weigh down her heart. It was late, but the boys led her inside and turned on the lights in the lobby. Much to her surprise, it was Matthew who spoke up first.

“Finally! We can relax!” 

“It will be good to have some rest without devils breathing down our necks.” Erik agreed. 

“Ugh... I’m just tired. Can I hit the hay early?” That wasn’t so surprising anymore to hear from Sam.

“I think some sleep would be good for all of us.” James agreed and so did she. Damien, on the other hand, made a soft sound that drew her attention. She knew he could read her mind and frowned. She didn’t want him to know her thoughts on the situation at hand now, especially since bringing it up would only ruin the mood. 

“Yeah. Bed sounds good.” She spoke up, hoping Damien wouldn’t; she just wanted this night to end. Too much had happened and she felt a little dizzy just trying to figure it out; however, Damien spoke up, stopping them all from moving to their bedrooms. 

“Should we be gone in the morning?” Damn it, there it was... couldn’t he have waited until tomorrow? The air became still with tension; the realization of the situation hit the other boys like a wave, causing them to turn to her in curiosity. They had remembered their deal and now were awaiting her answer, their eyes on her made her feel like she was deciding their fate or something like that. She gulped, face-to-face with the situation she knew would come and yet a part of her had hoped it wouldn’t. The boys were leaving it up to her. They all looked like they were willing to accept whatever she demanded and that alone made her feel unnerved. Yes this was her home now... but... damnit... they weren’t intruders or anything! It was only fair, though, after all that had happened since they had come crashing into her life. Why did she have to decide now? She silently cursed Damien’s ability to read minds, she knew he likely had heard that but it didn’t seem to affect him. Well... he had once told her he was ‘used to it’ had he not? She looked to Matthew, feeling her heart flutter in her chest as she met his deep blue eyes. Eyes so blue that they shamed sapphires... She didn’t want him to leave, but would he ask to stay? She hoped that he would say no to Damien and ask her to stay longer. As if he knew what she wanted, Matthew moved and stepped up to her, taking her hands into his. He gently smiled and spoke. 

“I want you to know that you’ve been  **really** generous to us, and I want to thank you so much for letting us stay here... but... is it okay if we stay here a little longer?” Her heart skipped a beat even as a red blush ran across her cheeks.The other boys stared at Matthew wide-eyed, as if they couldn’t believe what he was asking, but none of them dared to speak out. Matthew stepped back again to give her space, letting go of her hands and returning to where he had been moments before. She moved her gaze across each of the boys, trying to find the words that she knew were right as she began to realize she had already made her decision. She had made it before Matthew had even stepped up to her. She knew that if they left in the morning, she would never see them again and her life could return to normal... If she did decide to let them go, that would have been for the best. No goodbyes, no delays. But... did she want to? They had done so much for her in a small amount of time... No, even if it wasn’t for all they’d done, there was a reason she wanted them to stay beyond that. At last, the words came to her. She wanted them to stay. She wanted  **him** to stay. She merely smiled, staring at the man she had come to have feelings for, before speaking and answering the question he had given her and, at the same time, answering Damien’s.

“I would love it if you all could stay.” The boys cheered tiredly, but nonetheless enthusiastically and she couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. It was both cute and heartwarming to see them so excited, despite the tiredness that ran equally through all of them. Today was a rough day.

“My home is your home, as long as you can still help with the chores!” They all nodded in unison, agreeing to the terms that she had originally set for them. Despite the happiness of the situation, she felt herself slowly slipping towards unconsciousness; she was utterly exhausted. James quickly clapped his hands together, getting everyone’s attention and waking her up, making sure that she didn’t just pass out on the floor.

“Alright everyone. We’re all very tired, so let’s head to bed, shall we?” 

“Oh! Yeah, sleep is actually a thing. Right.” She smiled a little at Matthew’s statement, too tired to do more than that. 

“We’ve had a very long day, but it will be good to just relax tonight and tomorrow.” Mika couldn’t agree with Erik more. 

“Sleep sounds really good right now...” Damien agreed.

“Yeah, man.” Of course Sam was tired, hadn’t he said so earlier? She watched the happy smile grow on Matthew’s lips. He shared her excitement, knowing that they could be together longer. Who knew how long they would stay together? All she cared about just then was that she would get to be with him. She wanted to get to know him better, after all. The others quickly left to finally rest, leaving her and Matthew alone at last. Her heart fluttered a bit as Matthew practically skipped closer to her in excitement. It was really cute to see him that way... the way he’d been since they had first met. She didn’t do anything but smile, reminded why it was he had drawn her attention especially. 

“Thank you so much for letting us stay.” 

“You’re welcome, Matthew. I’m happy to have you stay here.” She watched his smile bright a bit before he cleared his throat and chuckled a bit. She realized after a moment that her last words had a double meaning there... She flushed a little. She didn’t know if it was the tiredness or her growing attachment to him, but she felt herself sway a bit on her feet. The look on Matthew’s face, however, made it clear he wanted to say something else; it made her forget that her bed was also calling for her as his face seemed to become... worried? Serious? Scared? She wasn’t sure exactly what emotion she saw there.

“Listen... about what happened at the warehouse-” He began.

“No. It’s fine. You did what you had to do. I understand.” Perhaps she understood a little too well. She’d accepted everything that had happened and knew that Matthew had to do what he had to do. He was real, and he was someone she didn’t want to be without, even if that meant fighting against her curiosity about him. She was too tired, anyway, to explore that memory further tonight. He nodded, holding out a hand to her.

“Come on, then. Let’s get you to bed.” He seemed back to his normal, cheerful self. She nodded and Matthew gently took her into his arms like a bride and carried her to her room. 


	11. Diana

She didn’t want to leave his arms, it wasn’t like being carried by Damien; she lay her head against his chest, but eventually she was lowered onto her bed and covered up with the covers. She was still in her day clothes, but she was too tired to strip or care. She looked to Matthew, fighting a yawn from escaping her as he gently ran a hand over her hair. 

“Have a good night, okay...? I’ll make breakfast again in the morning.” She nodded with a tired smile before watching him slowly stand and leave the room, closing the door behind him. A wave of happiness washed over her as she lay there; she knew she’d made a good choice. Sure, it would be hard, but she could tell that she would be able to manage it. Help around the house and being with a man whom she was slowly starting to fall for would be worth it. She slowly felt exhaustion take over and she let sleep consume her; as she drifted into the darkness of her mind her final conscious thought almost made her smile.  _ So he was the one responsible after all for breakfast... _ Everything was peaceful... She was happy... Something woke her. A voice.

“Hahaha. You are an interesting creature...” She opened her eyes to see a woman staring down at her with a sly smirk on her face; red eyes and light brown hair. She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand quickly covered her mouth. 

“Ah ah ah! No screaming, now. Too early, silly girl.” She could only stare at the this woman; she still felt weak , not having the strength to move and fight her off from the lack of sleep. What was going on and why was she here?! Who was she?! 

“Hmmm... why do the boys like you? You’re unique, yes, but that can’t be all that you have going for you...” She frowned in response, it must have reflected in her eyes along with her anger as she felt rage begin to consume her core. This woman, whoever she was, was making her mad. The woman must have known as she let another smirk grow on her face.

“Ooo! You’re feisty. That could be why...” What was with this woman?! Before Mika could bite her hand, she removed it and stood up fully, staring down at her from where she stood next to the bed. Mika quickly sat up and glared daggers at the intruder. She was very beautiful, but she felt more anger than amazement; looks weren’t everything after all.

“Who the hell are you and why are you in my room?!” She began to laugh in response, making the rage inside her increase; she wanted to punch this woman, but instead she waited for an answer. 

“How silly of me. I forgot we demons are not well known of in your world. You can call me Diana, little human.” Little?! What the hell?! She had some nerve... and what was with that dress? She looked like she was dressed to go ballroom dancing, the gold triangular patterns along the black, sleeveless dress matched the necklace she wore which seemed to be made of a string gold triangles. There was also a modest slit in the left part of the skirt, allowing her to walk easily in the form fitting attire that stopped at her ankles, but revealed a little bit of leg beneath. This Diana might be beautiful... but she wasn’t winning any brownie points for it. Who was she and was she really a demon? 

“You’re a demon?” 

“I am, but I’m much more than just an average demon.” 

“What do you mean?”

“Silly girl, I’m a succubus.”  _ Shit. _ That was all she could think at first. A succubus? First incubi, not a succubus. Great. Now she had met  _ both _ genders of sex demons.  _ Well aren’t I just lucky? _ She thought sarcastically. Diana crossed her arms under her bosom and looked at Mika’s body, seeming to measure her.

“Well, you are pretty... But you seem very reckless... Too reckless...” Demon or not... who did she think she was to simply assess her like that?! She stood up, glaring at Diana. 

“Why are you here?” 

“Oh, I just wanted to see who my competition was.” Wait... what?

“Competition?” She smiled as she spoke, as if they were friends who were discussing a favorite book.

“For the boys, of course. They don’t belong here, and yet here they remain. I want to know why and remedy this little issue.” This woman was seriously pissing her off.

“Issue?! What issue?! They want to stay here, so they can.” 

“Silly uneducated human. You don’t understand the important roles these boys play in the Abyssal Plains. You keeping them here is practically imprisonment.” She growled. This woman was an idiot... imprisonment was something done  _ against _ someone’s will! The boys  _ wanted _ to stay! She wasn’t forcing them! 

“You have about ten seconds to leave.” She swore that if this woman didn’t leave on her own then she was going to scream loud enough to send all the boys running and they would all CHASE her ass out! 

“Is that a threat? How cute. What are you going to do? Kill me?” Rather than be annoyed, she seemed... amused? What the hell was wrong with her?! 

“And if I do?” She really wondered why this woman was laughing at such a threat. 

“You barely have the strength to stand, little human. I can rip the rest of your energy out and knock you into a coma. You’ll never be able to wake up again.” Mika clenched her fists. 

“Touch me and I’ll-” 

“Enjoy. Every. Minute of it.” She drew the words out. Mika, on the other hand, had been about to say that she’d scream. She felt her body freeze and heat up to an almost painful haze. Her mind began to feel fuzzy as Diana stepped up to her and caressed her cheek. She knew this feeling, but she wasn’t enjoying a moment of it. On the contrary, she glared at Diana for it.

“Now, you’re going to listen to everything I say without any questions, got it?” She nodded, reluctantly. 

“Good. I plan to bring the boys back to the Abyssal Plains. Why? So that I can take my place as queen of their realm. They have no reason to be here in this silly little world, so I’m going to make sure they return home. Okay, pumpkin?” Mika growled even as her body was forced to nod. Her rage couldn’t be concealed, despite the hold that she was under. 

“You... evil... bitch...” She managed, it hurt to fight the control to even say that much, but Mika had no care for this woman. 

“Hahaha! Call me evil all you want, deary. I’m not evil; you’re just in my way.”  _ And what if you’re in MINE?!  _  She wondered; Diana leaned towards her ear and whispered, making her shiver in both pleasure and annoyance. 

“Now, be a good little human and go to bed. I’ll make sure they’re gone before you get home tomorrow from school, so make sure to say goodbye in the morning.” She growled again even as her body moved on it's own to lay down and cover itself up with the bedsheets. She glared at Diana the entire time but the demoness only laughed at her futility. 

“I’ll... get... you...” 

“Oh, please do.” Her voice deepened suddenly, becoming cold and demonic; it sent a violent shiver down her spine as Diana’s red eyes practically illuminated in the darkness of the room as she glared down at her. Mika knew she should feel fear, but she didn’t.  

“Give me a reason to make your life a living hell.” She gritted her teeth, trying to fight back against the hold on her. Diana couldn’t have been that tough. She needed energy to survive, right? She was sure that she couldn’t have had enough to hold her down forever. Diana then laughed and returned to ‘normal.’ 

“Oh, and make sure you don’t tell the boys I was here. I want my visit to be a surprise.” With the hold on her disappearing, she sat up and practically growled in rage at Diana.

“What’s stopping me?!” She said before she could stop it. Once the words were out she realized how reckless they were. She shouldn’t have said anything. 

“Tsk tsk tsk, then you must not care about your friends and family as much as you care for the boys.” She expected that answer... it was a classic threat from any villain. It happened in stories and movies... why not real life? Diana smirked at her, as if knowing the reason for why her eyes had darkened slightly. 

“Let’s just say that, if you tell the boys about me, I’ll make sure that  _ no one _ will care for you and you’ll be all alone in this little house until the day you die.” Could she do that? Mika knew that a succubus had powers that were the same as any incubus... but could she have a different ability, like the boys, that would make something like that possible? She considered that it might be. It was one thing for her to be facing a devil with help from the boys and yet another to face down a demon on her own. Despite that, she wouldn’t be detoured. 

“Have a good night.” She said way too pleasantly to actually mean it. With that, she sank into the floor through a some magic, purple pentagram, which disappeared as soon as her head had vanished into the floor. It was different from what she remembered seeing when she had called out to Matthew for help... but that had been more of a summoning so maybe it was different than traveling normally? She shook her head, barely able to believe it. First she’d had one problem and now that it was dealt with she suddenly had another. Instead of a crazy psycho devil who wanted her and the boys dead, she had a succubus wanting to ruin her life and take the boys away... although she wasn’t sure that those two things weren’t synonymous. She had to wonder though, could her life get  _ any _ worse? She shook the thought away, she really didn’t want to jinx herself in case it really could get worse. Why tempt fate? 


	12. Breakfast

No. She wasn’t simply going to let Diana win.

“She’s not as powerful as she looks. I know it.” Mika mentally confirmed it; she wasn’t going to win and the boys wanted to stay with her. They’d agreed to her conditions, they weren’t her slaves by any means nor was she keeping them here against their will. She let out a sigh before closing her eyes, affirming her plan of action. No matter what she was going to do, she was going to beat that demoness. When morning came it seemed like the sun was screaming at her to get up. Surprisingly, she woke up before her alarm clock once again, which was kinda nice. She stretched and dressed, getting ready for another day of school. _She expects me to say ‘goodbye’ to the boys. I will say ‘good morning’ and will see them when I come back._

“No way am I going to say goodbye.” She all but growled to an empty room. Scooping up her bag, she headed downstairs to the dining room and saw the boys were already eating a delicious selection of food. The smell made her stomach growl as the sight of the food drew her to walk further into the room. James, Erik and Matthew smiled when they saw her.

“Good morning, miss. Did you sleep well?” James asked. She hesitated in answering. Damien furrowed his eyebrows and stopped eating; which let her know that her attempt to hide last night’s event had failed.

“She’s here.” The way he said it made a chill go up her spine. Did Damien know her? The others looked at Damien in confusion while she silently cursed his ability.

“Umm... Damien, what’s up with you? Of course she’s here. She kinda owns the house.” Damien looked from his brothers to her, wanting her to explain for him this time. The threats that Diana had given her last night warned her against it, however. She almost sighed aloud, knowing that the boys would find out from Damien if not from her. So it didn’t really matter if she said anything or not.

“Diana.” Damien pressed his lips together into a fine line while the others looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“A girl named Diana came by last night...”

“Diana? Is she important?” Erik seemed confused by her answer.

“Did she try to hurt you?” Leave it to Sam to think that, though he wasn’t exactly off the mark.

“She’s a... succubus.” That single word seemed to make them all stop eating and stare. She looked at each of them, unsure of what was going through their minds. Should she have avoided it? No... it wouldn’t have mattered if she’d spoken up or not.

“So... she’s come to try and bring us back...” It was James who spoke, his voice rather quiet; none of the boys seemed pleased by this prospect.

“She must really be desperate.” Matthew added and that made her wonder if perhaps they hadn’t met her before.

“Well, what should we do now?” Erik looked over at James but it was Sam who answered.

“Nothing. She’ll give up eventually.”

“Will she?” James asked; the boys continued to look at her as if she knew the answer to that. Damn it, Damien.

“She said that if I told you, she’d make my life a living hell... She can’t possibly do that, right? She’s not a devil.”

“No, she isn’t... However, she is a very powerful demon.” _That’s not reassuring James._

“She’s a master of mind-manipulation and has been trained in illusion. Unlike other demons who use strength to get power, she uses her charisma.” _Thanks Erik... so in a word... yeah, she could._ Mika almost sighed at the thought.

“She has the power to make armies bow to her and obey her every whim. That’s why she’s so obsessed with us.” _That... doesn’t make any sense Damien._ She didn’t say it aloud, but she knew he heard it, even if he didn’t respond or even give any sign he had.

“What? What do you mean?” She hoped he’d explain further; she’d like to say that she was surprised when he didn’t answer but Matthew did... except that she was sort of used to this back and forth now. For... whatever reason, it seemed to be a thing with them. Not that she minded really.

“Well... she sort of has family ties to us... She was promised to marry one of us in exchange for more power.” Well that figured.

“She’s just some whacked up hussy who doesn’t know how to close her legs. She’s not a real threat.” Well crap... Sam seemed to be showing more hostility against Diana than Mika had honestly expected him to.

“Oh, really? I feel insulted.” The only one who wasn’t surprised, likely, was Damien. Since he could read minds after all. They looked around the room, wondering where the voice came from. Mika felt a cold sweat run down the back of her neck in fear, remembering what kind of power this demon had. After a moment of searching, they spotted her by the entrance of the kitchen, juggling a red apple in her hand as she leaned against the archway. The boys were quick to surround her, just as they had in the warehouse, glaring at the intruder.

“So, you took up a human name as well.” That only seemed to confirm her suspicions that the boys knew her from before now.

“Beautiful name, isn’t it? Well, for a human name, anyway.” What was THAT supposed to mean? Was that a veiled insult?

“What the hell do you want?”

“To bring you back, of course! However, you weren’t supposed to know that I was coming. I completely forgot about that little mind-reading ability.” She chuckled, as if it were some joke.

“My mistake.” She pushed off from the archway and walked towards them, making the boys step closer to Mika in a protective circle. This caused Diana to laugh.

“My, my, my. What have the worlds come to? A group of demons protecting a human girl? I’ll tell you right now, she’s not that pretty and, from what I can tell, she’s still a virgin.” So what? What difference did _that_ make? Although the way she said it made it seem like some sort of an insult that she had been saving her first time with someone she loved rather than just sleep with any guy. She didn’t say a word, it didn’t matter... apparently in the demon world it was something to be used frivolously but Diana obviously did not understand that, for humans, it was not something to just use as some bargaining chip. That it meant a lot more than that and she almost pitied Diana for her position, being a succubus had to suck if she was expected to be experienced by a certain age. Still, when Diana chuckled and smirked at her, Mika wanted to hit her, but she had control of herself. She wasn’t just going to go and do something stupid.

“Such control you have, human. You know your place very well...” She growled, this wasn’t the Dark Ages! This demon was an idiot if she thought that... Diana seemed to ignore the sound much like one would ignore the growling of a dog.

“Well, will you all change your minds? I assure you, it’s for the greater good.” Greater good? What the hell sort of nonsense was _that_?! There was complete silence. None of the boys replied, which made her curious as to why. Diana leaned her head back a bit, surprised.

“No? Well... I see...” Was silence their way of saying no to her? She looked around at each of them and saw the disobedience in their eyes, giving her the answer she sought. She felt her heart flutter, especially when her eyes landed on Matthew. He kept her close to him, glaring daggers into Diana. She could feel that he was completely adamant in his choice to stay, regardless of what his reason for coming to this world had been originally. She didn’t know what his reason was, or any of the others’ reason for that matter, but she was incredibly happy to know that Matthew wanted to stay. Diana sighed and pressed a finger into one temple, rubbing it gently.

“Either all of you are playing a very convincing hard-to-get game... or you all must be out of your minds...” _Or maybe you’re the insane one lady..._ Who in their right mind, after all, would ask anyone to run back to the place they had run from in the first place? Diana’s gaze shifted to her then, as if to read her mind. She could tell that Diana wanted her to do something, but the boys would stop her, so the stare was her only available action and she was not going to say or do anything to change the boys’ minds. Whether Diana liked it or not... it was their choice to stay or go. After a small moment of silence, Diana licked her lips before breaking the gaze-battle with her and smiling to the boys.

“Very well. I guess I’ll take my leave now.”  She was going to just leave? The boys straightened up, seeming just as confused as Diana stepped back from them with a small bow, flaunting her cleavage. Not that any of the boys were really paying close attention to that rather than her as a whole. Without another word, a purple pentagram appeared beneath her, like the night before, and she slowly sank into the floor. As her head vanished into the floor, the pentagram vanished. The boys relaxed at that and slowly began to return to their spots at the table, each in deep thought.

“She’ll be back... but she won’t kill us. She needs us alive.”

“Whatever. We’ll just keep saying no! She can’t force us to come back.” Mika wasn’t so sure of that. After all, Malix had tried to use her against the boys, she didn’t think that Diana would be any different.

“She can’t do anything but annoy us. Eventually she’ll give up.” She wondered how Sam was so certain of this.

“That’s the hope, anyway...” Right, hope. She hoped that Erik had a little more than just hope to go on.

“Hopefully...” She said in agreement, there was no guarantee. Matthew walked over to her and held her hand, look at her with a smile.

“Everything will be okay. Promise!” She meet his gaze, she wanted to believe him. To trust that he could take care of things, just like he had with Malix.


	13. Bloodless Battle

She nodded, having a feeling that he was telling the truth, or at least a hopeful and comforting thought, and smiled back. Matthew leaned close to her and kissed her cheek; she blushed and forgot what she was thinking about at the feel of his lips on her skin. The sound of collective chuckles and playful snickers whispered through the air, making her blush even more, but the laughter stopped as Sam let out an ‘oof!” after a fluffy object collided with his face. She looked up to see Matthew was glaring at his brothers, holding up a fluffy anime plushie. Seeming to dare any of them to keep laughing as he held the thing. None of them seemed to want to earn a plush thing in the face, so they kept silent. Mika quickly left the room after that, trying not laugh at the prospect of the incubi brothers cowering before their brother who held nothing more than a stuffed animal that he would fling at them at a moment’s notice. Albeit with deadly accuracy. She hadn’t forgotten his skill in a fight with knives; as strange of a weapon as that might be in today’s world where guns were a common sight as weaponry... he was very good with them. No, that wasn’t right... saying he was good with them was an understatement. She didn’t even think about the fact that she hadn’t actually eaten as she left for school; there wasn’t any time now before class and besides that she’d lost her appetite with the appearance of Diana. That woman was more than enough to ruin anyone’s appetite. At least today she only had one class to deal with. History. She was pretty sure that nothing would happen.... Never, ever say that nothing will happen before the day is over... History class wasn’t her favorite, it wasn’t exactly fun really, but she liked her teacher and most of the other students who were already there were around her age, though a couple of them were older. Before class was set to start, however, there was a note on the board stating that there would be a substitute for the day. Mika looked around but didn’t see anyone but the other students so far. It wasn’t until the door opened just a few minutes before class was set to start. She couldn’t help but stare and she swore that her heart stopped as she saw her.

“Hello class, you can call me Ms. Diana.” Mika nearly groaned. Diana smirked when their eyes met before she strutted over to the podium near the head of the class, ignoring (or welcoming) the whispers from the other students, before she sat on the edge of the desk and crossed her legs. So unprofessional, but seeing her made her stomach churn. What was Diana going to do? 

“So, History. History, history, history. Such a silly thing, isn’t it? I mean, what do we care about the past? We’re in the present!” The rest of the class hesitantly nodded in agreement, though whether that was because she was controlling them or because they were actually willing to hear her out she could not be sure. 

“The present is so full of wonderful things! While the labors of the past are the reason we have many things, it is our chance and privilege to utilize what has been given to us!” Her charm was infectious; the class was practically eating out of her hand already. As she looked around, Mika could see a few of her classmates smiling and agreeing; she simply pressed her lips together as she listened further. She had no choice. 

“What’s even funnier, about human beings, is that some of the bits of ‘history’ we hear is either made up or completely biased to one side! It’s like a story you read as a child!” She was one to talk... Mika had a feeling that demons were no different on that score. Why would they be when Diana had proven to her the other night that demons could be just as cruel and ruthless as any human, if not more so. 

“You hear of the princess and the prince and they live happily ever after, but what about the family she left behind? What of her friends?” As the class seemed to listen and agree intently on her words, Mika could tell, however, that those words were targeted at her. Diana hadn’t really come to teach a bunch of humans, she was targeting her and Mika knew it. 

“The original story of The Little Mermaid! A perfect example of a biased opinion. Here we have a girl who thinks she can be with this prince, but this prince has to marry a princess! What would happen if the mermaid had her way? What makes the mermaid so important that the princess has to suffer the consequences?” Mika didn’t answer despite that Diana looked at her as if she expected her to speak up. Consequences? What sort of crockery was this? And about a fairy tale no less! Despite that Diana was the ‘teacher’ she had no trouble simply ignoring her. There was no telling what she would do if she talked back. Diana smirked, Mika glared at her; she knew she didn’t need to fight to win. 

“It’s still something to think about, however, as we think of this story. It’s so easy to believe that the mermaid was the heroine, but what of the poor princess? Why should the princess suffer the antics of the mermaid? The princess didn’t do anything wrong to her.” More nonsense, a not-so-subtle subliminal message to make her pity her. She wasn’t going to pity Diana though. How long was she going to drag this out? She wasn’t a real teacher, she had no idea how to really run a class full of students... at least not human students. Diana continued to rave about the injustice the princess had to suffer through while the mermaid was in the prince’s sight. To Diana, it was injustice; to her, it was fairytale. A story meant for entertainment and a lesson about love and loss. The boys  _ choose _ her.  **He** chose her. Diana wasn’t going to convince them otherwise and she certainly wasn’t going to let her nor buy any of this. Diana stretched her arms up, making an obvious sexual noise that made some of the boys in the class shift in their seats. Mika merely rolled her eyes. Did that woman think about ANYTHING other than sex?

“Well, then that’s enough about fairytales. After all, the little mermaid was fated to lose her prince in the original story, anyway. It was for the better, though! The kingdoms, I’m sure, flourished, and the prince and princess lived happily ever after.” Mika’d had enough of this idiocy.

“How can you be so sure?” She stared challengingly at Diana. The other students turned to look at her in shock and confusion; Diana looked over and smiled kindly, but that only made her mad.

“Because I have a hunch.” A hunch? What the hell sort of answer was THAT? Recalling that the boys had left for a reason, even if they hadn’t told her, she boldly continued.

“What if the prince was incredibly unhappy? Could the princess live with herself knowing that the man she married was unhappy?” 

“In that case, the prince and princess’ sense of duty would overrule emotion. Their kingdoms would flourish nevertheless, making their people love them and live happy lives.” Another excuse, it wasn’t an answer to her questions. 

“So the prince is supposed to suffer a marriage he  _ doesn’t _ want for the sake of his kingdom?” 

“It happens all the time in reality. Arranged marriages happen to bring families together and bring wealth out of poverty.” 

“We don’t live in the Dark Ages. Even if we did, that doesn’t make it right, saying that the emotions of the two who are forced into marriage doesn’t count for anything.” The other students applauded, knowing that what she was saying was right. Diana pressed her lips into a thin line out of irritation, signalling her victory over the demoness. Diana stopped talking and looked at the clock on the wall, reading it quickly. Class had barely begun, why was she looking at the time already? She shifted to lean against the blackboard and smiled at the group; that made Mika worry. 

“You know what? School isn’t important. Everyone, go ahead and head home. Take the week off.” The other students looked at one another in confusion, after all, college was hardly cheap and a sudden dismissal like that seemed bizarre. Before anyone could really puzzle it out, however, a messenger came in; announcing something that no one would ever believe to be real.

“Due to an emergency faculty meeting, the school will be closed for the remainder of the day and the rest of the week. All classes are being dismissed until then. Please leave quickly and have a good rest of the week.” That said, the messenger disappeared. She’d used her powers on them. Damn it. It was blatantly obvious to her, but she couldn’t just blurt that out to her fellow students; she felt the need to stop Diana, but how could she stop a demon in the middle of a public area without seeming insane? It wasn’t like she had powers like Diana did. Diana smiled before gesturing to the door. 

“Have a nice week off! School will resume next week!” Most of the students were out the door in a matter of minutes, each of them off in their own world now so it wasn’t a surprise or difficult for Diana to stop her, of all the students, before she could leave. 

“Excuse me, little miss. I’d like you to stay a little while. There’s something we need to discuss.” Mika glared at Diana while the last of the students left the two of them alone, just like Diana wanted. Standing up, she slammed her hands on the desk in front of her as she glared at Diana. 

“What are you doing and what are you thinking?!” 

“What? Do I not make a good teacher? I figured you should have a little lesson so I took matters into my own hands.” 

“Whatever you’re trying to do here won’t work.” 

“You really think so, dear? And what makes you so sure about that?” Why was she so sure? That was a good question. She brushed aside the doubts that were trying to creep into her mind; to cloud it with uncertainties that she’d had just that morning. There was risk involved, in letting the boys stay; if they were ever found out... there’d be hell to pay for sure. Reason and logic overruled that though; how many people actually believed in such things as magic in this day and age? Unless demons and devils suddenly began popping up like daisies and using magic all over the place... the chance of discovery was pretty slim. The chance of someone even believing whoever made that discovery was even slimmer. What about Diana though? Would she force her parents to forget about her completely? Would she ruin her friends’ lives out of spite? As sour as that pill was to swallow, her confidence didn’t fade; no matter what Diana said of herself, what she was trying to do was wrong. That she would ruin lives just to get what she wanted only made it that much worse.... If she was as “grown up” as she seemed to present herself to be, then why was it she couldn’t seem to wrap her brain around the idea that just because you wanted something to happen didn’t mean that it would... especially when that something involved someone else.


	14. More Than a Nussiance

What was going on with her? Why was the confidence she had seeming to struggle? After a moment she began to understand... this was Diana’s other power. The ability to dissolve the confidence in someone else. Just like Matthew could make toys and Damien could read minds. She looked up to meet Diana’s eyes only to find her gaze boring into her and that was all she needed to prove that she was right. Diana was trying to influence her; using her powers on her, but this time Mika was away from home. She couldn’t escape and there was no way the boys would know she needed their support... or could she? Did she want to? The way Diana was staring at her was starting to make her feel warm and fuzzy inside; she felt like she was melting. Diana lifted a hand under her child and ran a thumb over her lips, licking her own. Mika could feel little shots of energy zipping from under her skin into her chin where the demoness held her. 

“Now, let’s have a little taste of that sweet, virginal sexual energy...” Her mind snapped to attention despite the influence. This was wrong. Even if she could jerk back because her body was under Diana’s spell as she leaned in, ready to kiss her and take her energy. Half of her body felt elation while the other half completely rejected it in disgust and didn’t even want her to touch her. 

“M-Matthew...” The weak plea tumbled from her lips. It was enough to stop Diana in her tracks though. 

“Matthew? Who is...” She trailed off as it dawned on her.

“Ahhh.... one of the boys... Why don’t you tell me which boy is ‘Matthew’?” Against her will, she nodded.

“T-the fourth...” Diana giggled before letting go of her face and stepping back.

“Really? The child? With you?” Her gaze narrowed. Matthew was NOT a child! Even so, she nodded once again, but this time it was partly her own decision to reply. Diana let out a sound that mimicked a cat’s purr before taking another step back. 

“Alright then. Well, if it’s the fourth son you’re infatuated with, you should really re-think your romantic options.” Really? And who was  _ she _ to speak of romance? Diana chuckled before she kissed Mika’s nose, where she felt a shot of energy zap out of her body and almost make her dizzy in recoil. Diana then turned and sat back down on the desk once more. 

“You can go, now. Remember, no class for the rest of the week.” 

“And how am I supposed to get home? I take a scheduled bus, which won't be around again this early in the day!” 

“Is that so? Hehehehe, my apologies. Let me help, then.” Help?! Diana lifted her hand and snapped her fingers. Mika suddenly felt the floor sink from underneath her, forcing her to look down; a purple pentagram surrounded her feet, pulling her into the ground. It was exactly like what she remembered seeing Diana use to make her exit before. 

“W-w-whoa!!!” She had no idea what exactly was going to happen, but before she could fight it she sank fully into the floor; fading into the darkness she shut her eyes. It was only when she felt the silk sheets of her bed around her to soothe her anxiety from the darkness that had previously surrounded her did she actually open her eyes. 

“Wha... what the...?” Why had Diana sent her home? Was this some sort of an illusion? Was she being tricked? She was certain that something was going on. Sitting up in the bed, she looked around; she was indeed in her room with her things on the floor nearby, there was no mistake about that. Why? 

“Diana... is too strange...” She muttered. Was this a game? A part of her plan to get the boys back? Mika was more lost and confused than ever, despite her logical thoughts trying to piece the puzzle together. The more she tried to solve the puzzle that was Diana, the less she understood about her or this whole situation really. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, by the door suddenly opening and revealing the boys with Damien’s hand on the doorknob.  _ Guess he heard my thoughts. _

“Miss, what are you doing here?” James and the others seemed confused and concerned. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” Erik asked next, but she furrowed her eyebrows, staring at Damien; asking him to answer their questions through her thoughts as he would be able to pick it out easily enough... hopefully. Her thoughts were a bit scattered. 

“Diana sent her back here. She invaded her school and sent all the students back home.” Damien seemed a little angry at that, Mika didn’t blame him. 

“What is that bitch up to? Seriously! Diana’s playing around for no reason.” She no more had an answer for Sam on that score than any of the other boys seemed to. 

“Maybe it’s part of her plan...”  Matthew seemed uncertain. The boys continued to argue back and forth about Diana, fueling an almost jealous curiosity in her; after all, she didn’t have any siblings to speak of. Damien seemed to be too deep within talking to the others to notice her thoughts, or acknowledge them, as he didn’t even stop talking alongside his brothers as they were all seeming to try and talk over one another. Why was Diana after them? Why did she want to bring them back? What was so important about them that she would travel to the human world to get them? What was going on? She decided enough was enough, if she was going to be dragged into this then she needed answers. 

“HEY!” The boys stopped arguing, staring at her in surprise; after all, she didn’t exactly make it a habit to yell to be heard by them... and had been mostly soft spoken, more or less. Her hands were in fists in her lap as she mustered the courage she needed to continue to speak despite her abrupt shout. 

“Why is Diana here? Why does she want to take you back? What exactly did you all run from? Why did you run from it?” 

“Miss, we-” No, she wasn’t going to be detoured by anything James might think to say!

“Don’t ‘miss’ me! Please! I need to know what is going on. I won’t be left in the dark about this. I want to know what I am facing.” The five of them looked at each other hesitantly, unsure of what to say; after a moment, Sam pushed Damien towards the bed. Caught off guard, he buckled and landed on his knees with his torso over the edge of the mattress. 

“Damien. Do the thing.” 

“The thing? What thing?”

“Sam, you’re not suggesting-” Erik began.

“Why not? She deserves to know everything. Especially if Diana is targeting her.”

“Sam’s right.” Matthew agreed.

“Guess we have no choice, then.” James seemed the most reluctant about this for some reason; she was getting confused. What was Damien about to do? Damien stood before climbing onto the bed with her, sitting across from her on his knees. 

“We’re going to show you everything. You have to trust me, okay? The minute you stop trusting me, the vision will stop.” A vision? Could he do that?

“Vision?”

“It’ll be okay. Just trust him.” Matthew said, catching her attention again; she looked at him, unsure of what was going on for the moment, but she nodded. If this was the only way to learn, then this was her chance to know... to know everything about the five boys who had come crashing into her life. Damien gently placed his hands on each side of her head, gently pressing his thumbs into the skin above her eyebrows. She could only stare at Damien in return as his eyes began to glow gold and energy began to both be pulled out of her and forced into her head. Within seconds, her vision went black; she was unsure of what Damien was doing, but soon shapes and textures slowly began to appear around her. 


	15. Truth

Mika found herself sitting on a stone floor in the middle of what looked like a fancy throne room; it was like something out of the medieval era, walls and floors decorated in varying patterns and a red carpet that led all the way to what appeared to be a cushioned throne, that was also red. The wall behind it decorated with colorful etchings that seemed to be meant to make the throne seem bigger than it was as well as seem like it was the center of the artistry behind it.

“Where am I...?” She wondered aloud a moment before she remembered that once Sam and Erik had said something about a castle one morning. Huge pillars seemed to line the walls. To say that the place was massive would be an understatement. No wonder Sam was used to yelling just to be heard in another room... Castles, like this one, weren’t really built with acoustics in mind... so one had to be loud just to be heard from more than a few feet away; how annoying that must have been. She looked down at herself as she moved to stand only to find herself translucent, like a ghost. 

“Whoa!!” A jolt of shock and amazement ran through her. She stood up and inspected her hands. She was see-through! That was sort of cool... but why? What was going on here? 

“How dare they try to negotiate with me?! Do they not know whom they speak to?!” The sound of the unknown speaker made her head snap up. She ran behind a pillar; the sound of the voice’s anger and his words, for surely it sounded male, frightened her. She felt a lot like a frightened child. 

“My lord, please calm yourself...” A second voice spoke up. 

“CALM?! They are merely testing my resolve! I have more than half of a mind to send my greatest armies to take what should be mine! They are mere insects in the way of my kingdom’s expansion!” 

“They merely asked for a marriage joining.” 

“So I am to bow to them and share my land, that I have so rightfully conquered?!” Feeling that she wouldn’t be seen, as the boys had said this would be a vision, she peeked from behind the pillar to see a large, gray demon draped with a red, royal cape with what looked to be feathered lining, but who was buff enough to be a military commander. His rage practically emanated from his body as he growled at the other demon, a servant from the looks of it. She’d done enough studying of medieval times to pick out such details. 

“They are willing to give their land to you, sire! All they ask is for one of your sons to marry their daughter, whom I might add is as beautiful as can be!” It was obvious the servant was trying to placate the other. 

“This is ridiculous! To suggest that I need their approval to take their land is beyond insanity. What makes them think that I care about their  _ precious daughter _ ?” The last words were said mockingly. 

“Did I mention that she is a ... prodigy of our kind, sire?” This seem to get his attention.

“A ‘prodigy’?” 

“Yes, my lord! This succubus is a master of her skills in magic and mind manipulation. She is said to sway armies with a snap of her fingers, despite being as young as she is.”  

“Impossible!” 

“If it only were, sire! This succubus is dangerous, but would be a great asset to have should we agree to this arrangement. The only reason she cannot phase you, my lord, is because you are the strongest demon in the plains!” 

“Is this supposed to change my mind?” 

“Yes, my lord.” 

“You are doing a terrible job at convincing me...” 

“My apologies, sire...” She felt lost, were they talking about Diana? Why?

“Father?” She did a double take as she saw a young demon approach, he looked a little like James in that he had the same eyes and hair, but he had golden horns sticking out of his head and a gold pattern that swirled over his skin that looked a lot like some sort of paint though she was sure it wasn’t paint. Like the Demon Lord, his skin was a black color from the waist down, but the rest of him was a more pale, human color. 

“Father... ?” Who was this demon child? 

“Ah. Raestrao. Have you finished your training?” The eldest son? Then this was... James?!

“Yes, father.” 

“Then what do you want.” 

“I want to be with my brothers the rest of the day, father.” The demon commander walked to the younger demon and gripped his hair, picking him up off the ground and forcing him to look up at his snarl. The younger demon, however, looked unfazed... it was as if he’d seen it all before... 

“Huh... arrogance. Why should I allow you to be with them? I should kill you for your lack of respect to me.” 

“Because I want to be with them, father.” Mika stared in something of disbelief at how calm the young demon was, despite the massive difference between them. The young demon seemed weaker and easy to kill in comparison. Why would this man kill his son, though? Was this demon that ruthless? However, she wasn’t expecting him to laugh and release the young demon; yet he did.

“Ahahahahaha!! Good! Assertive even in the face of danger. That is why you are my favorite son.” That clenched it, she was sure now that this was a younger James. Like before, with Matthew’s true name... the name Raestrao stuck fast in her memory, but she was sure she’d probably never use it. Why would she need to when she had Matthew? She could only stare as the commander put his hand on the demon’s shoulder.

“Very well. Go. Tomorrow, you will show me your training.” The younger demon grinned widely before running off. 

“I have a thought.” The Demon Lord said after the younger was out of sight.

“Yes, my lord?” 

“How old is this daughter?” 

“As old as your... fifth, sire.” 

“Do you believe this proposal is worth it?” 

“Yes, sire...” 

“Tell those insects that they are safe for now. I will consider their offer.” 

“Sire?! Are you certain?!”

“Did I stutter? Now go!” The demon servant quickly ran off, but as soon as he passed the pillar that MIka was hiding behind, he and the commander vanished into thin air. 

“W-what the? ... is it...?” She didn’t have time to figure it out before a demon, who looked around her age, walked into the room reading a book. It was the same demon from before... she was sure... just by watching how he moved that this was James. It seemed like him anyway. He was the eldest of the boys and they had said that they’d show her everything... it only made sense... He was certainly a demon in appearance, but he was still more human than she had imagined he might be. 

“Raestro, your nose is stuck in those books. Will you not lift your head up from them once in a while?” The voice of the other demon sounded familiar, but she was unsure who it belonged to as she circled around the pillar to see the other demon, he was leaning against another pillar and smirking at Raestrao. His markings were maroon, as were his horns which curved a little like a ram’s rather than forward, like Raestrao’s. He had violet eyes... only one person she knew had eyes like that... Erik. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be with your mother practicing the harpsichord?” Exasperation colored his tone and she wondered why that was.

“I am, but I had a feeling that you were in danger.” Danger? What did he mean?

“In danger? What are you-” 

“ATTACK!!” A younger voice yelled, all of the sudden three shadows zipped through the room and slammed into Raestrao, forcing him to fall to the ground and drop his book. As the sight cleared up for her, there were three other demons in a dog pile with Raestrao at the bottom.

“Get! OFF!” 

“No way! You haven’t had a break in months from those stupid books! It’s time for PUNISHMENT!!”

“Death by brotherhood!!” The sight was comical, in a way. 

“No more reading!!”

“I told you that you were in danger.” Erik smirked, Mika giggled; she suddenly knew who each of the demons were before her. Even in the demon world, their brotherly connection was astounding. These were merely younger versions of themselves, but she had guessed already that the one on the bottom had to have been James. One of the younger demons, whom she assumed was Matthew by his brilliant blue eyes and silver hair, grabbed the book from the floor and opened it, reading it mockingly. 

“How can you read this, Raestrao? It’s all about war strategy! It’s boring!” 

“I have to, Zecaeru- GET! OFF!!” That only verified her suspicions. The demon in blue with silver eyes was Matthew.... 

“There’s only one thing you need to know about strategy: kill ‘em all!! Take no prisoners!” That sounded like Sam...

“You sound just like father, hahaha!” Mika giggled along with Erik; it was cute to see them acting childish with each other. Eventually, James managed to push his brothers off him and stand, brushing himself off. 

“You all are reckless.” 

“At least we have fun!” 


	16. What is Past

“It’s true. You haven’t been with us in weeks. Don’t you think it’s time for a break?” Erik spoke up. 

“I’m sure father won’t mind!” That was just like Matthew to think so.

“But... I have to-” James began. 

“I know you want to, Raestrao.” She couldn’t help but laugh a little, it was so cute seeing Damien like this! He almost NEVER said anything! It was both shocking and cute really, watching the younger versions of the brothers... exactly how old were they anyway? She brushed off the question, it didn’t really matter.

“Damn it... I-” 

“What is going on here?” Mika almost sighed. Of  _ course _ they would be interrupted... and by their beast of a father no less. He was aged a little, staring at the boys with his arms across his chest. Damien quickly dashed and hid behind Sam, peeking over his shoulder to see the Demon Lord. 

“Nothing is going on. We just passed by each other.” 

“Then why does your brother have your book?” 

“I was showing him what I was learning, father.” 

“Return to your studies, Raestrao. The rest of you, out of my sight. Do not disturb your brother again.” She stared as James gently took his book and, without looking at his brothers, returned to reading. The Demon Lord walked passed the remaining brothers, growling at Sam and Damien, before leaving the room.  _ What was up with that? _

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll find a way to get him back.” Erik reassured the others. 

“I don’t know... he’s on a very tight leash...” Matthew seemed uncertain. Sam looked at Damien who had made a quiet sound.

“Izroul, you’re quiet. What did you hear?” Izroul... so that was Damien’s true name. 

“He’s going to a negotiation meeting... He’s going to arrange a marriage.” 

“A marriage?! For who?” 

“It must be for one of us... “ Matthew trailed off.

“He hasn’t decided who will marry her...  It’s a girl from a kingdom he wants to take over...” 

“But... that’s uncharacteristic of him... Usually he’d just attack with the army.” Erik frowned in puzzlement.

“Whatever the case is, one of us is getting married.”

“I hope it isn’t me...”  _ I can’t blame you for that... I’m hoping that as well, but wouldn’t it make more sense to be ... ? _

“What about Raestrao? He is the eldest...” Damien spoke up, as if hearing her thoughts. 

“It would make sense... but having a succubus marrying one of us means that she’ll be practically married to all of us...” Mika wasn’t sure about where Erik had come up with  _ that _ of all things... but at the same time he had a point... seeing as they were so close despite everything.  

“Well, what should we do?” Before the conversation could continue, the group vanished into thin air; fading into different colored mists and letting her know that the vision was changing again. They were replaced by an older Damien and Matthew, sitting with each other in the middle of the throne room. Now that they weren’t huddled together, she was able to get a closer look at them. 

Matthew’s horns were a darker shade of blue than his eyes and seemed smaller than those of his brothers, being only a few feet in length likely. His markings were like ocean waves across his upper arms, torso while a single band seemed to encircle his neck. The rest of his arms were covered in solid blue that was almost black, like he was wearing gloves or something. Damien, on the other hand, had black markings and his horns curved much like a ram’s horns. His markings that covered his torso, arms, legs and neck, made her think of spider legs in their shape. It was a little odd, but not scary to see the brothers this way; after all, they were demons... this was the form, she realized, that Matthew had hoped she wouldn’t see in the fight against Malix. Had she thought that she would be scared of him if she saw him as he was here? The thought of his expression, during that fight, flashed in her mind. Well... maybe she might have been, but not because he was a demon... mostly, maybe, an instinctual fear for the power that he had displayed and how easily he had used it to kill. Her thoughts were interrupted when Matthew spoke up.

“Do you think we should?” 

“I really want to.” 

“I want to as well... Still, it’ll be hard to convince Raestrao, since he’s the one about to be married and he’s the favorite...” 

“We don’t know that, Zecaeru. Maybe she’s set to marry YOU.” 

“No way! I don’t wanna get married!” 

“I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that baby-face of yours.” Mika turned to see Sam joining the duo, he crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows at his brothers. She studied him a moment, he looked like his brothers... except that his wavy markings, similar to Matthew’s in pattern, were green like his horns, which jutted out gently in a wave up from his head. Unike Matthew, though the markings  near his neck looked like three vicious hooks together. Matthew looked rather unhappy with Sam, which wasn’t unusual.

“What are you two talking about?” 

“We got into contact with the human world again.” Damien replied, closing his eyes as he seemed to do often. This version of him seemed a lot more like the one who was showing her all of this. 

“Come on, Izroul... you give humans too much attention.” 

“No way! You gotta listen! They apparently have stories and books and schools and stuff!” Mika didn’t think Matthew was going to convince Sam to join them that way. 

“So what? It’s full of humans who piss on each other for no reason. They’re no better than the devil-spawn.” Mika frowned at that. Sure, some humans were bad... but not all. 

“Nuh-uh! The one we were talking to wasn’t like that!” 

“How do you know, Zecaeru?!”  

“Because I do!!” Mika wonder if they were talking about her grandfather. 

“What is going on here?” Mika finally got a very good look at James too, aside from having large horns that curved forward and were larger than even his father’s horns, they were a deep bronze while his markings were a dark gold that seemed to flow across his arms and torso like gentle figures. Mika remembered Matthew had said that they each had different mothers and so that was why they looked so different from one another though they did share some traits.

“They want to go to the human world.” Sam said, like it was the most boring thing ever.

“The human world?” 

“Raestrao, think about it! You won’t have to marry that girl and be the heir anymore! You could be with us and we can make lives for ourselves in the new world!” Even though she knew how this likely ended, because she knew each of the boys, she wondered if Matthew would convince James. Was this the right point in time? It was hard to know. 

“Now you’re just talking nonsense!” Sam protested.

“I vote that we do it.” Erik chimed in. Now that her attention could focus on him, she got a better look at Erik’s markings. They were like gentle flower stems in the way that they curved over him and ended in rounded points though his markings looked like they were almost a brown rather than the bright maroon that his horns were, which curved, she saw, less like that of a ram than Damien’s were, but still similar curve.

“Huh? Oh not you, too!” Sam seemed to groan.

“Think about it. This might be our chance to finally get away from this political nonsense we’re stuck in. We may be nobles, but we’re still our own beings.” She nodded, that they were. James didn’t say a word.

“Raestrao is in.” 

“Wha- Izroul!” Mika giggled a little, she wondered what Sam and Erik’s real names were, they were the only two she hadn’t heard, but she shrugged it off. She really didn’t need to know. 

“Woo!! So, how do we get there?” 

“Are you kidding me? You don’t even know how we’d get there?!” 

“A simple spell  _ should _ work, but it would require someone from the human world to help us get there.” Erik replied. 

“We can ask him!” Matthew seemed excited, it was cute.

“Ah! He’d definitely help us!” She was sure that Damien meant her grandfather; things seemed to click in her mind now. 

“I’m... I’m not so sure about-” 

“Raestrao. Aren’t you tired of pleasing father all of the time?” Erik cut in.

“I am, but-” 

“If you stay, you’ll be married off and become ruler of father’s kingdom. You’ll have no time for yourself or with us and you’ll be constantly at war with the other realms for power. You’ll most likely turn into the spitting image of father.” The idea didn’t seem to appeal to James and she suddenly began to understand what it was he was running from... what they  _ all _ were. 

“What he’s saying is get your head out of your ass and let’s go! If you don’t say yes, I’ll drag your princely ass with us. I don’t care what that bastard of a father wants.” 

“Come on, Raestrao...” Matthew seemed to plead. 

“Alright. Let’s do this. What’s the plan?” He asked and the others smiled, she finally had the whole history right in front of her and understood the brothers now more than ever. They had sacrificed everything to be together. They’d rather be free than remain in their noble roles. Mika started to feel a little jealous; they were able to leave while she was still expected to be what her father wanted her to be. How they were able to leave was uncertain in details, but she knew she would learn in time. 


	17. A Glimpse of Life

Mika closed her eyes and mentally asked Damien to end the vision. As soon as she asked, the world around her slowly vanished and she was brought back to the bedroom where she sat with her head nestled in Damien’s hands. Her vision began to clear, letting her fully see the boys around her, all of them wore concern on their faces; were they expecting her to be scared of them or something? 

“So, you now know exactly who we are...” James, of course, was the first to speak up. 

“Diana is the girl you were arranged to marry?” 

“Not anymore. Once we left, the arrangement was broken. With no sons to marry off, our dad couldn’t go through with the marriage deal.” 

“If Diana is here for us, that means she’s trying to save her kingdom from being attacked.” Mika almost agreed with Erik until Damien spoke.

“That’s not true. She wants to rule our kingdom. Having one of us will give her the right to our kingdom as much as we’d have right over hers.”

“So she’s a gold-digger!” Well... Matthew wasn’t wrong in that assumption, it seemed. 

“Well, with a kingdom like ours, what succubus wouldn’t want to marry us for it?” She nodded in thought, it did seem like such a great thing, but in truth she knew it wasn’t... at least not for the boys. She thought over Diana’s analogy in class. It wasn’t just her trying to sway her over to her side, it seemed, but was almost a full-blown comparison to her own problems. Knowing what she did now... Diana certainly wasn’t evil... but that didn’t make what she was trying to do right either... Whether her motives were really what Damien had said or what Erik had suggested, it didn’t really matter, the question now was what they should do about it. It seemed, in her mind, that Diana had come to bring them back because she knew that, despite her powers, she wouldn’t be able to fight their father, so she had to find another way. The entire concept of it gave her a headache and she wasn’t sure if she hated Diana for it or pitied her at this point. Suddenly she felt her head grow heavy and she felt dizzy. She gripped her head, mewling under her breath. 

“W-what the...” 

“I took too much! I’m so sorry!” 

“It’s okay.” 

“Rest now. There’s no need to do anything more today.” Mika nodded a little in agreement with Jamie’s words even as the other boys rushed over and helped her lay back down as now her vision was painted in white polkadots. She needed sleep, badly. Instantly she closed her eyes and let the darkness of sleep consume her. After what seemed like hours, she finally woke up, slightly refreshed. Her body knew that if she slept any longer she’d be up all night, which was not part of the plan for the day. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, letting a soft groan escape her lips. In response, something beside her bed shuffled, causing her to look over. She didn’t know what she was expecting. Beside her, sitting in a chair beside the bed, was Matthew; he was rousing himself up only to see that she was wake. She smiled at him, seeing his slightly ruffled hair and tired eyes, aware that he must have been watching over her. 

“Oh, you’re awake...” He yawned.

“How do you feel?” 

“Better.” He nodded before looking down at the bed, taking her hands into his. 

“I’m really sorry. I’m  _ really, really _ sorry...” 

“Matthew, it’s not your fault-” 

“No. Please listen! I know that Diana and Malix have come after you because of us, so it’s our fault that you are constantly in danger... If I hadn’t convinced everyone to come to the human world, we would have never been attacked by Malix and hunted down and brought you danger and-” She slipped a hand from his and gently lay her fingers over his lips, stopping him from going any further. She didn’t want to hear him blame himself and his brothers anymore. 

“Matthew... it’s okay. I wanted to help you out. I offered to let you all stay. Nothing is your fault.” She gently moved her hand and cupped his cheek, staring at him with concern. She didn’t want him to hold guilt in his mind about this whole ordeal. Diana was desperate, she’d hunt anyone down for them. It wasn’t his fault she was desperate enough to hunt them down. Still, she couldn’t help but be curious and want to know more about Matthew and the life he’d had.

“So, Matthew, you’re a noble?” He looked at her and gave her one of his goofy smiles; it made her heart soar to see it again. 

“I was once, but even if I had the title, I really didn’t feel like a noble.” 

“How come?” 

“Well, I was the fourth noble son of the Demon Lord. With Erik and Sam ahead of me, in case James couldn’t fulfill his duties, there was no way I was getting the throne. So, I spent a majority of my time trying to make my mother happy. She was always unhappy.” 

“Unhappy? How come?” 

“Well, my dad kind of... well... he married four different women. Each of us came from a different mother and my mother was the last to be married to him and bear a son. The thing with succubi, though, is that they get jealous  _ very _ easily.” 

“So what happened?” 

“The other wives got mad and scorned each other. It wasn’t violent, but we never ate together for a reason. My mom, though, was too proud to have jealousy. She wa the last woman the Demon Lord married, so she felt important. She felt that, because he stopped marrying, she had the charm to stop his marrying spree.” He let out a small laugh, a hint of depression lingering in the breath he let out. 

“But, then the Demon Lord took in another woman and she bore him a son outside of wedlock: Damien. The wives, including my mother, were furious. In response, the Demon Lord had a spell cast on them, turning them into spiritual orbs.” 

“That’s horrible!” He nodded, pressing his lips together in both agreement and sadness.

“They could never have physical form and they lost all of their powers. They became slaves, trapped in the Demon Lord’s castle. However, they were kept alive to make sure their sons grew up to be competent demons.” 

“I’m sorry...” What else could she possibly say? This whole thing seemed, for them, to be a nightmare that they’d managed to escape. Matthew gently shrugged, letting a small, nostalgic smile grace his lips. 

“She taught me how to be a demon, though. Not just a demon: a grown, adult demon. I read books, I learned strategy, everything James was doing under the Demon Lord’s watch, only I trained with just my mother. She wanted me to surprise the Demon Lord one last time and, maybe, take the throne away from James...” He reached into his pocket and took out a small mirror. 

“Here, I’ll show you.” He handed it to her and sent a wave of blue mist into it. It began to glow until it enveloped the room in a bright light. When the light faded, she was back in the main hall of the demon castle. She looked around, feeling unable to move, but she could practically see everything as clear as she had before. Her focus, however, gathered on Matthew who was sitting on the throne as if it was his and reading a book. For some reason, at that moment, he reminded her of James. He seemed engrossed in his reading, reading each word and absorbing each meaning. Him on the throne surprisingly seemed to fit. There was something about him that just made it seem... right.  

“Heh. This is an easy read...” He murmured to himself. A saddened cry, however, echoed through the hall, forcing Matthew to stop, close the book, and stand from the throne. 

“Mother?” Mika looked around, confused at the cry and where it was coming from. It seemed to just echo through the room without any source of direction. He sighed and placed the book on the armrest of the throne before he cupped his hands together. 

“Fly and comfort her, will you?” As he opened his hands, a small bird with blue and purple feathers perked up from between them. Matthew smiled before releasing it into the air. Mika watched as it flew off and glided through an open archway. The sound of it's flapping wings faded into the air as it flew farther into the castle. 

“Come on...” She turned back to him, she could tell he was holding his breath; he must have cared very deeply for his mother. It was incredibly sweet... and heartbreaking. At last, the sound of the crying stopped, making Matthew release a happy sigh.

“There we go...” He cracked his knuckles in approval and reached for his book; however, before he could even graze the cover with his fingers, the sound of pattering entered the room. 

“You!! Fourth son!! Away from the throne!!” 

“Alright! Alright!!” 

“Bahh! What am I going to do with you?! You’re a child.” What a horrible servant! Matthew growled, glaring at the servant as the servant quickly brushed the throne off, like there was dust all over it. 

“The next time I see you on the throne, I will inform the Demon Lord. Understand?” 

“Yes...” She could hear his reluctance. The servant continued to brush over the throne before knocking the book from the arm rest. Matthew froze as the servant quickly moved over and picked it up.

“What is this? A book? Why do you have it?” 

“I was reading.” 

“You? Read? Pahahaha! You don’t need to read. You’re never going to need knowledge for anything, fourth son.” That made her growl at the servant, despite that he couldn’t hear her. How dare he! Matthew’s eye twitched, making her grimace a little; this servant sure had a mouth. To say it was annoying was to say the least... the very least. 

“I’ll just take this book and bring it to the heir himself to read. He’s reading faster than the library can provide.” 

“But that’s-” He protested.

“Raestrao’s next area of study.” The demon cut in. The servant began to walk away, ignoring Matthew’s glare of anger. The servant stopped, however, to look to Matthew to pour more salt into the wound... as it were.

“Let’s face it, kid: you have the smallest horns, the smallest frame, and the least amount of power among the noble sons. You’ll never be like them, so just stop trying. Use your incubus powers on others who have a child fetish or something.” Mika saw red. It was a good thing the demon wasn’t actually there or she would have ripped him a new one while she knocked out some teeth. How DARE he say that! Who was this pig-face to judge what was right or not for Matthew?! The demon looked at Matthew up and down, as if assessing something, before rushing off to where he came from... wherever that was. As the servant disappeared, Matthew summoned a knife and chucked it in the direction where the servant left. The knife embedded itself into the hard stone beside the door into the hall. 

“Ugh... I hate that guy... Disgusting pig faun...” She didn’t blame him and only wished she could offer that version of him some words of comfort as he walked over and sat on the foot of the throne, clearly aggravated.


	18. Diana's Offer

Matthew stopped the magic, lowering the mirror and holding it in his hands before looking to her. 

“I had hoped to show you my mother, but I guess the mirror wanted to show you something else... Sorry..” 

“That servant is terrible.” 

“Hahaha! Tell me about it! He’s served the Demon Lord almost his whole life. Ugly pig faun.” Matthew laughed while she laughed at the insult; it was good to see Matthew in good spirits despite what had been shown by the mirror and what was happening around them. Still, it was sad to see that he was considered the child of the noble sons when he wasn’t even the youngest. He could read books that his brother hadn’t read and he seemed to have a caring and kind heart. It was insulting to see someone tear him down like that. Especially someone who had no right or was in a position to do so. Matthew smiled at her before pocketing the mirror. 

“Whatever. Thankfully we got out of there, so I could be with my brothers like a normal family. No hierarchies, no politics, no pig fauns, nothing!” She smiled, it was good that he saw the positive side; however, his face slowly turned to a sad one before he looked down at the bed.

“Matthew?” 

“You’ve done a lot or me and my brothers... Sheltering us, letting us continue to live here... It may not seem like much, but for us, it’s everything...But I don’t want you to get hurt because of us...”  She watched in speechless silence as Matthew lifted his head, his eyes were full of almost hopelessness and it broke hear heart to see it.

“That’s why I’m sorry...” He lowered his head in shame and she felt her heart squeeze within her chest even more than before at the sight. He truly cared... they all did, in some way. He let out a small sigh before looking back to her with a new smile. He hid his sadness well, but she could tell he was still upset about the whole ordeal. She wished that she could take it all away from him, to see him truly smile once more... like he had when they had first met. 

“Alright. You need to sleep and I need to make dinner! I’ll wake you up when dinner is done.” He gently pressed her back down onto the bed. She couldn’t simply let it go at that, she wanted to offer him some form of comfort. She simply couldn’t let him leave the room without doing something. Before he could move away, she quickly pulled him down to her, lifted her head, and gently kissed him; softly laying a hand on his cheek to keep his face close. He stared at her in deep surprise before hesitantly returning the kiss, caressing her cheek and slightly melting at the touch of their lips. It was the only form of comfort she felt she could offer him at the moment that was sure to get through. A soft sigh escaped his lips before he slowly pulled away with a smile; this time it reached his eyes and made her heart beat a little faster. He gently licked his lips, making her flush at the simple gesture; he let out a satisfied sigh before nuzzling her forehead. 

“Go to sleep...” He said gently before he stood up and left the room, leaving her to rest per his request. She smiled to herself before relaxing into the mattress. The sound of a familiar laugh, however, had her sitting up again just moments later as she tensed. She felt majorly uneasy. Something wasn’t right. She could feel it in her core. 

“ _ She _ must be here.” The thought of Diana in the house again infuriated Mika beyond belief. She had to make sure that she wasn’t just hearing things... that she wasn’t here. Mika quickly left her room, wandering the halls and listening closely. Diana was a demon, but she was listening very intently. There was no way that she would have been able to sneak up on her. 

“I know you’re here... where are you...?” She felt herself growl. It wasn’t a matter of fear that she’d take away the boys anymore; but her very existence had lit a fire of rage within her gut which only grew as each day went by. This feud was getting on her nerves and she knew it would not end well for one of them. She wasn’t going to lose to that demon bitch and that was that. 

“Leave me alone!” The sound of Matthew’s voice let her know where Diana was; her heart stopped at the thought of the demoness with him. Her mind flew into slow motion, playing fake images of Diana trying to seduce Matthew, further fanning the angry flame that was inside of her. She followed the sound of Matthew’s voice, finding herself approaching the grand lobby and followed the commotion to the dining room. The sounds, however, echoed from the kitchen so she peeked inside while hiding around the corner, to assess the situation first before she faced her opponent. She almost growled at the sight: Matthew was holding to one side of the kitchen’s island counter with Diana holding the other side, looking to him with a smirk. 

“Oh come on, Matthew! Don’t you like games? A game of tag sounds so fun!” 

“Not with you! Now go away!” 

“Ahh! I’m hurt. Wounded, truly. Did I go too far?” 

“You went too far when you came here and attacked Mika!” 

“Pity, and here I thought I was going to offer you the chance to become something better than just a simple incubus...” What was Diana going on about? More than just an incubus? She was insane.

“How about becoming the next Demon Lord?” He looked at her in shock while Mika froze. What did she mean? Becoming the next Demon Lord? The boys weren’t in the demon world anymore. They had no claim to the throne anymore... The fact that Matthew just stared made her worried. 

“The next ... Demon Lord?” 

“Well, currently, I am the contracted bride to the heir to the throne. Since the throne is open, it’s available to any son of the Demon Lord’s line.” He was silent. 

“Think about it. You’ll gain the throne, the land, and a bride to continue your lineage with... Doesn’t that sound like a perfect life for an incubus like you? You’ll show your father and mother how grown up you are... That you’re not just some little cute boy people can take for granted.” Mika gripped her fists tightly in anger; she knew that offer was a very tempting one... She couldn’t help but feel anger though over how she was trying to convince Matthew to return to the demon world. He’d run away from it with his brothers. He didn’t have to back. He  **shouldn’t** go back... not to that... Still, in the silence that prevailed, her mind began to wonder; imagining him saying yes. He would leave and the brothers would follow to bring him back. They’d be trapped because Diana would make sure they could never leave. Matthew would be the new Demon Lord with Diana as his queen and she... she’d lose him. 

“Like I would believe you.” He deadpanned. 

“You don’t need to believe, Matthew. You just need to come back home with me. I promise you’ll be respected as you were supposed to be.” 

“I’m not falling for it!” She felt relief at his words.

“Fall for what? The truth? The truth is that your brothers  **still** treat you like a child, even thought the demon world is far behind you. The truth is that your little human love affair is fleeting. She can never see you as a man, just as a little boy who wants to grow up.” Anger flared in her at the same moment it did in Matthew; she didn’t see him that way, she saw the little boy  **in** Matthew but she didn’t see him  _ as _ a little boy. There was a difference.

“STOP IT!!” She heard his power flare in him, the echo in his voice... his true voice... let her know that he wasn’t having any of this. As she watched, Matthew chucked a handful of knives at Diana, who ducked and dodged all of them with ease. They dug themselves into the tile wall before fading away, as if they didn’t even exist. 

“You dare attack me?!” 

“I’m not going back... and that is FINAL!” She could see Matthew’s muscles tense and flex, wanting to attack Diana again. The girl in question, however, took a deep breath and looked to him with a pleading look.

“You won’t even return to your mother? She’s been crying ever since you left.” 

“Do NOT bring her into this!” He glared at her as Diana circled the island towards him. 

“She begged me to bring you back. She wants you to get what you deserve: the throne.” 

“I don’t believe you.” With another deadpan look, he walked away from her, heading for the fridge to start dinner, as if s he wasn’t even there. Diana stopped and leaned against the counter.

“She’ll never love you, you know?” What?! What the hell did she mean by that?!  _ Does she mean me?! _

“I don’t mind. I care for her.” 

“Pfft! The human girl? You must be joking. A human like her can’t possibly provide you what you need. She’s a human, you’re a demon.” Since when did THAT make any difference? Incubi sustained themselves on sexual energy... when did it matter WHERE that energy came from?! That was the final straw. Who was Diana to say what she did and did not feel? How could she  _ possibly _ know what Mika felt for Matthew? She was tired of all this. It was time to set this ignorant, piece of shit succubus straight... She stepped into the room without hesitation, rushing between Matthew and Diana, if looks could do anything... Diana would have been set on fire. The two of them looked at her in surprise as she glared daggers at Diana. Her voice was quiet, but full of deadly heat.

“Get. Out.” 

“Well, well, little human. You’re awfully nosey in business that doesn’t concern you.” 

“It  **does** concern me.” 

“Does it? I don’t think a human would understand the importance of this affair.” She really was an idiot... did she not know anything about the human world? About how it operated now? How it used to?! From what she could see, demons were still living in the Dark Ages and  _ that _ was a shame but that didn’t mean she was just going to step aside and let Diana have her way because of such stupidity. 


	19. Love

“You’re asking him to leave, to be someone he doesn’t want to be. That’s not going to happen.” 

“Oh? And what makes you so sure about that?” 

“Because I love him.” This wasn’t the way she’d wanted to tell Matthew, but the shock in Diana’s eyes was worth it. Was it not what she expected from her? Screw her expectations, she didn’t care what that demon before her expected; she wasn’t going to lose the man she had grown to love.  

“You... love him?” 

“Yes. I love him.” She reaffirmed without hesitation, her heart beating in her chest; churning with the emotions she felt just then. There was no doubting it, she loved Matthew... loved everything about him and with equal strength she despised what Diana was trying to do. She couldn’t see Matthew just then, but she was sure he was as surprised as Diana at the admission. Diana’s lips twitched, the edges curling into an amused smirk as she stared at Mika. 

“So what? A human’s love isn’t enough to understand this situation. A demon can never reciprocate human feeling.” Her heart thumped painfully in her chest, but she didn’t care about that. Diana obviously didn’t understand how the human heart worked... how love worked. When it was love, true and pure... it understood everything. It didn’t judge and it didn’t need someone to reciprocate it. It was self-sustaining and one of the most powerful things on the planet. Love had stopped wars, had changed human minds... it could be the very reason that two very different cultures would lay down their weapons, no matter how long the feud between them had been, and embrace one another... love was a very powerful thing indeed and it brought about miracles every single day. She almost pitied the demon before her who seemed to know nothing of what love could do, of what love was. To both of their surprise, Matthew stepped forward and put an arm around Mika, pulling her close to his body.

“I love her.” The conviction and confidence in his tone, let alone the words, sent her heart pounding in her chest in pure joy. The confidence Diana had shattered in her eyes as she stared at Matthew at his words. She could see the struggle in her face to try and find some weakness in Matthew. In her. Anything. There was no weakness in love, however, 

“A demon love a human...? Impossible.” 

“You heard me. I love her, Diana. I’d do anything for her and she cares for me more than anyone in the Abyssal Plain ever  **had** . More than you’ll ever know. She makes me feel like the adult I’m supposed to be and there’s nothing you can do to change that.  _ Ever. _ ” Diana took a step back, seeming to physically feel the sting of Matthew’s words; she had lost. It was evident in her eyes now. Diana’s eyes grew dull as she glared at the two of them. It seemed almost uncharacteristic of her, yet, it was something that she wasn’t surprised to see come from her. 

“Very well... Fine... Vale.” What the heck was that suppose to mean? Diana faded into the ground into a purple pentagram, as she had previous times, crossing her arms and almost looking... upset. Matthew and her were left alone, left with the silence of the room; Mika finally let out the breath she’d unconsciously been holding, relaxing from the ordeal. Matthew stepped closer to her and held her gently, surprising her. 

“Are you alright?” She nodded in response, unable to speak so immediately after being surprised like that. He let out a sigh, relaxing in the embrace; she turned and gently placed her hands around him, returning the embrace slightly. She could hear his heartbeat as her head lay against his chest; as he held her close in his arms she felt safe beyond words. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Of course I’m okay... I’m holding you...” She looked up at him then, surprised by his words; Matthew blushed, moving a strand of her hair from her face as he looked down at her. She was sure there was a faint blush on her own cheeks. 

“You mean so much to me... You make me feel more than just like a kid. I’ve never felt this happy before with anyone and here you are, giving me every reason to love you... I love you so friggin’ much...”  She knew she was staring, blushing like a maniac by this time. Was this real? No way. This couldn’t be real... it had to be a dream right? Was  _ Matthew _ confessing to her? Confessing his  _ love _ for her? He gently caressed her cheek, staring into her eyes with a loving, almost hopeful expression. The warmth of his hand invited her to nuzzle into it; she did so, closing her eyes. She felt the truth of it. This wasn’t some dream. Her heart was pounding hard enough that she was sure Matthew could hear it. She opened her eyes to look at him, he gently leaned in, closing his eyes; he stopped, however, remaining just a mere torturous inch away from her lips. It was obvious. He wanted her to show her feelings for him. He had left himself open for her to kiss him or leave him empty. The power she suddenly had over him, it was unbelievable... She loved him though and wanted to give him exactly what he wanted. She gently leaned in, letting her lips finally touch his gingerly. He let out an almost surprised gasp against her lips before wrapping both of his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She moved her arms up around his neck, feeling the kiss between them deepen to a heated height. Her chest was pounding, making her both feel and see fireworks in her mind. Matthew was everything that she desired. He was the man that she wanted, demon or not; noble or not, it didn’t matter to her. It never had. Since the first moment he had appeared before her to try and cheer her up when she’d woken up from them taking energy from her to the time when he had fought with Sam about helping... Even to coming to her rescue when Malix had her kidnapped and he had transformed to protect her... It was like some fairytale. It was her fairytale. It was all so supernatural; it fall in love with someone so quickly. Maybe it was because of the sense of magic she’d been thrown into, maybe it was Cupid playing with her heart... or maybe something more. It didn’t matter, she found herself melting at the thought of him being with her. She soon found herself combing her fingers through his hair, making the man who held her softly tremble at her touch. He gently nibbled on her lower lip, asking her to deepen the kiss between them even further. She easily teased him a moment by nipping back before she opened her mouth a bit for him. His tongue gently danced with hers as one of his hands slid up her back and cradled her head. He gently leaned her back, making her cling to him for balance as the heat of their kiss rose higher and higher. Gently, though, Matthew slowed the kiss down and pulled away, staring down at her. His eyes burned for her, wanting her to melt and buckle in his arms. She could feel herself begin to melt already just by meeting his eyes. His gaze alone made her feel weak in the knees. He opened his mouth to speak, but as a very small blush ran along his cheeks, he was reduced suddenly to shy silence. She stared at he tried to find the words to say, meeting her gaze as if the words were written in her eyes for him to read. She knew what he wanted; she could feel it in the way he was holding her, the way he looked at her. He didn’t need energy, though, right? She hadn’t forgotten what had happened last time when he had needed energy. She’d blacked out and while she had enjoyed the heated kisses they’d shared on the kitchen floor then, it was a mite embarrassing to realize she’d passed out even after it had happened. Apparently that was the result of having her energy taken so thoroughly like that, but because he had... he’d been able to deal with Malix like the gnat he was. At least she was certain that her energy that she’d given him had contributed to that. It was only a theory of hers, rather than something she knew for certain and honestly... she couldn’t care less. Even then, she realized, she had begun to love this man for who he was... even without knowing his past, without knowing his real appearance... she had fallen head over heels for this demon.   

“Are you...?” She asked, uncertain.  

“No... I just...” So she was right, he didn’t need the energy. She stared, feeling the blush on her cheeks grow. He didn’t say anything more, but he didn’t need to really, she knew what words would have followed if he’d continued. He wanted her. Plain and simple. She was stunned, honestly. Was she really that appealing to him? Did his passion really run that deep for her? He gently nuzzled her forehead, losing his blush and finally being able to speak. 

“If you don’t want to, we don’t have to... I mean, it’s up to you...” The last words were said more gently even as he let her go, they stood there now; him waiting for her answer and her trying to wrap her mind around it all. Mika felt her mind go numb and purr at the idea. A moment with an incubus.  **Her** incubus... He was a demon of sex, the purest form of lust and desire. Her world would rock and she knew she would enjoy every second of it. At the same time, she was indeed... inexperienced. Diana wasn’t wrong when she had claimed Mika to be innocent of such things. Did she want to give that innocence to him? Especially this early in their relationship? As she thought it over, she suddenly found herself forgetting the words ‘yes’ and ‘no.” What could she say to him to truly express what she felt then? She knew, suddenly what she wanted to say, but how to say it without breaking the moment... 


	20. Seduce Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who haven't played the game, this chapter is named after the choice to have sex with the chosen incubi (in this case, Matthew); you can skip over this chapter if you want to. It's not really relevant to the story line itself (though it does have some relevance in the game) and all you need to know about the end of the chapter is at the bottom (if you want to scroll down).

“Seduce me.” She couldn’t believe the two words that had suddenly slipped out of her mouth. It made the most sense to her then to tell him yes. She needed him. She wanted him. Those two words must have made something in him finally break. Matthew gently wrapped his arms around her again and went back to kissing her passionately. She could feel energy whiz around her, making her open one eye to see blue light glowing around them. A light she felt could only be his power; when the light subsided they were in her bedroom, on her bed. Matthew above her. She stared up at him as his eyes held a look of both lust and love. Her heart skipped a beat simply from this. It was okay. She wanted to see all of him and give herself to him. She gently guided his head back to her, kissing him slowly and bringing him further into the mood with her. He slid both his hoodie and shirt off, tossing them to the side before cradling her head in his hands and kissing her deeply once more. She felt heat rise in her body, making her undo the tie underneath her collar and release the buttons on her own shirt. Lost in the moment, she removed the shirt and vest, making Matthew stop kissing her and stare in slight surprise as the garments fell to the floor. She was simply in a white bra, but she could feel a blush invade her cheeks when she saw him staring. Her shy side began to creep into her mind. Did she really want this? To undress before a demon? No, this wasn’t just a demon, it was the man she loved, and yet she felt her innocence drape over her in something like shame. She knew she needed to fight it though. She quickly rolled them both over to where she was sitting on Matthew’s lap now, staring down at him. He sat up, looking at her with one of the most sexiest smiles she’d ever seen. He pulled her close, seeming to know that she was still shy, and began to kiss her lips over and over. Each kiss like a promise to keep her safe, comfortable... to love her. She wrapped her arms around him again, taking each kiss he gave and giving her own kisses in return as even the tiny garment of the bra was soon discarded. She didn’t know if it was the fact that they were both half nude or maybe she just craved his touch, but she didn’t want to let him go. As he held her, however, she could feel a slight shiver in his hands, through his touch. Was she his first? Instinctively she knew that he wasn’t going to tell her. He wanted her to enjoy this moment, but was afraid of screwing up; the shivering in his hands showed his emotions perfectly as the last barriers of clothing were shed between the two of them. As he laid her down again, kneeling over her, he smiled and embraced her as they both desired. The pleasure between them was heavenly and they went through it together in every kiss, every touch. She closed her eyes as she arched beneath him and gave herself to Matthew completely. Her body, her mind, her soul: it all belonged to him as he held her. His body, his mind, his soul: it belonged to her as she gave into his embrace. The feel of his kisses and fingers over her skin would forever engrave themselves into her memory as their passion rose to incredible heights with each kiss and touch that they received and gave one another. Their breathing quickened and their moans to each other equally sounded and echoed like a blissful chant that they never wished to end. They moved, loved, felt every inch of their bodies as they melded together until they’d had enough and she was enveloped in his embrace as they reached the peak height. Skin to skin, heartbeats matching, they held each other in the glow of the aftermath. Mika nuzzled her head under Matthew’s chin as he held her close. 

“I love you.” She smiled.

“I love you too.” Just to hear those words from Matthew made her heart flutter; to hear her own answer made her soul warm in joyous rapture. They both sank into a peaceful sleep together; it was the best sleep she’d had in days and she was happy. There were no regrets in her mind. She had love, happiness; her life was simply perfect in that moment. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself staring into Matthew’s bare chest. She blushed but glanced up to see that Matthew was still sleeping. To see him sleeping made her giggle softly in pure happiness, but the reality of the situation also made her heart flutter. She almost couldn’t believe it. She was lying next to the man she had grown to love with all her heart, warmed by his body heat even after the aftermath of their love making had vanished. His warm embrace made her feel safe and, as the tender moment they’d shared replayed in her head, she couldn’t help but smile and snuggle into his chest further. Unconsciously, he held her tighter to his body, giving her more of his warmth. She didn’t want to move, she was perfectly content and happy where she was at. Her mind didn’t wander as she simply basked in the feeling of joy and contentment that came with being in his embrace, nevermind that neither of them wore anything beneath the silk covers that draped over them gently. He was everything she could ever want in a partner... kind, caring... not afraid to be himself... Loving, but also fierce when he needed to be and there was no doubt that he had both the power and the skill to protect her, should the need ever arise again. While there was a certain part of her that had been thrilled he’d been so adamant about protecting her... that he had trusted her with his true name to use to summon him whenever and wherever she may need him... she also hoped that she would never need to ever use it again. Well... not like that anyway. She hadn’t been daring enough, but the thought of saying his true name at the height of passion had crossed her mind. She just wasn’t sure how he’d react if she did something like that. She pursed her lips in thought over the matter. Should she ask first? She really was sorely tempted, but she didn’t want to cross some line. After all, it wasn’t something to be taken lightly... but neither was the love that she felt for him. Even if it had risen quickly over the few days she’d gotten to know him and his brothers. Despite that she knew more about them from the vision, she knew she still didn’t know everything. Mika felt that there was more behind each of the brothers, that their past delved deeper that what she’d been shown... even the extra that Matthew had shown her in the mirror had been only a small glimpse into the life he’d led. She knew that life wasn’t pretty for Matthew and his brothers, but she couldn’t help her curiosity there anymore than she could stop herself from imagining the reaction Matthew might have if she had allowed herself to be bold enough to groan his true name out in pleasure.... She was sure it would be worth it... if he was okay with it that was. She didn’t want to make him mad at her for any reason... so yeah... she would have to ask him about that at a later time. As she tried to imagine how the conversation would go, she felt her core tighten and it made her move from his embrace and sit up without waking the man next to her. She felt her body begin to move, but it wasn’t of her own will and she had a feeling she knew who was behind this because while she was bold with Matthew, she really wasn’t bold enough to simply do as she was about to. She moved to the balcony window and opened the glass, stepping out on the patio without even bothering to dress first. Yeah, she definitely did not have THAT much bravado in her, which only made her angry that she was being forced into this even as the cool night air played over her skin. It took away the heat that she had gained in Matthew’s embrace. She stared at Diana, who sat cross-legged on the railing of the balcony; her glowing red eyes staring at her, not caring about whether or not she had any clothes on as their eyes met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who skipped down here and not wanting to read the scene above, all you need know is that Diana has compelled the main character to her, with her magic, where she sits on the balcony.


	21. Diana's Offer

Mika opened her mouth to object, but Diana stopped her. 

“Before you get all huffy, I didn’t come here to take your precious man away. By the way, how was it exactly? Demons are the best lovers, after all...” There was no way she was answering that. She didn’t care if Diana was a demon herself. That experience was between her and Matthew and it was going to stay that way. She simply glared at her in answer to that question.

“What do you want, Diana?” 

“Well, I just wanted to see how you  **truly** feel. You know, without him around to influence you?” 

“What are you talking about?” What the heck was that supposed to mean? 

“I’m giving you an opportunity to come clean about these feelings of yours and to give you your salvation...” Salvation? That was a laugh. Since when did demons offer THAT sort of service to humans? She was up to something. This was beyond crazy or desperate. Nothing she had done made any sense really. Why was she even still alive at this rate? Why hadn’t Diana just killed her? 

“What’s keeping you from just killing me and taking them?” 

“Heh. You’re not worth my time.” What? 

“Not worth your time? What, are you afraid something might happen?” Suddenly Mika was lifted into the air and moved over past the railing, leaving her with nothing but the ground below to threaten her with a collision that meant instant death at the height they were at. 

“Oh trust me, dear. I’m not afraid to kill you. I can drop you right now and leave your body to rot until the morning when the boys would find you.” Mika wanted to speak, but the thought of Diana letting her go and letting her fall to her death scared her voice into silence. She hadn’t been scared of death before... but she hadn’t had someone who depended on her to be alive before either until just recently... Diana chuckled and willed her body back to the balcony, setting her down gently.

“Alas, if I kill you, then the boys would never come with me willingly back to the demon world and then I’d have to chase them all around the world or kill them and drag them back, but then their father wouldn’t be happy and blah blah blah.... Too much work.” It sounded like it. Diana seemed very business oriented, as if the boys were cargo more than men; it irked her, but then Diana smiled. 

“I’m giving you one chance to denounce your love for the demon in your bed and let me take him and the other boys back to the demon world.” So that was it. They were back to that again; she knew that Diana was up to something. 

“And why, may I ask, would I do that?” 

“There are so many reasons why, actually. There’s the reason that he’s a demon and you’re a human, so you two can never truly have a happily ever after. Then there’s the reason that demons truly do not know how to love, despite what he may proclaim. The list goes on and on.” Seriously? Was she so ignorant that she thought “happily ever after” actually existed for humans? That was a joke. Mika might have been brought up in a family that had known wealth, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t seen the reality around her; she went to a nice school, yes, and was blessed to have a lot of things, but no human ever lived “happily ever after.” Not even real life princes and princesses who married for love instead of duty or because of the reasons that Diana had mentioned off-handedly when she’d been trying to persuade her to give up the boys while she’d been at school. There was no such thing. Happily ever after was just a phrase used to end a story, a fairy tale or folklore that one told to young children. Life was a trial, her grandfather had helped her see that, but also to see that it was the trials in life that made or broke people depending on how they decided to handle things. A person didn’t live “happily ever after” just because they married the person who they fell in love with... or because they got something they always wanted. Sure, maybe the largest problem they’d ever face in their life was over after they achieved their goal or married their love, but that didn’t mean it was all roses afterwards. There would always be small bumps in life because no one was perfect. Mika couldn’t imagine how deluded all the demon world must be if someone as educated as her believed such things existed. 

“The point is, if you give me the boys, I will promise you eternal happiness.”

“ _ Eternal happiness? _ ” She nearly spat the words out, nearly laughed at the phrase. 

“That’s right. I have the power to give you anything you desire. Power, men, women, money, fame. Name it and it’s yours. A demon never goes back on their word and I have the power to obtain anything you wish. Our deal is our contract.”  _ Yeah right... the only power you have is over the physical body and sexual desires of others...  _  She scoffed. Yes that was indeed a form of power, as was likely the mind manipulation she had, but there was more to humans that just that. Perhaps Diana could fulfill such a bargain, but why under the heavens did this demon think that she would want anything that had just been offered to her? She stared in utter shock, not at the offer, but at the audacity of this demon who smiled an almost genuine smile at her; shaking her to the reality of the situation. She would never smile like that... not to her anyway. 

“Don’t you wish to be free of your destiny? Your father constantly berating you to become the next CEO of your grandfather’s company?” 

“H-how did you-” She was almost floored. How did Diana know all of that? She was a succubus, yes, but how could she know anything about Mika, herself, beyond sexual desire? She wasn’t Damien after all... Diana chuckled and leaned back against her arms. 

“Just because I play with hearts and sex doesn’t mean I know my way around the human mind. You happen to be an open book of information... but I digress.” Mika frowned a little, if that were true, then why was she bothering to even ask? 

“I can give you your freedom with ease. It’ll be like you were always meant to have it. All I ask is that you hand over the boys. What do you say?” Was she seriously being given this choice? The man she loved for anything she wanted? A demon like Diana was powerful enough, yes, but did she want to even consider giving up the man she loved for such a trivial thing? She looked at Diana, perhaps this demon was crazier than she’d thought previously... or maybe just incredibly stupid. It was hard to say which as she glared.

“Absolutely not.” There was nothing in this world that meant more to her... or even as much... as Matthew did. Diana sighed and stood up on the railing. What Mika wasn’t expecting was that she was lifted up into the air. She tried to scream, but found that her voice was locked in silence; that had to be Diana’s doing. What was she doing?! Diana made her float over to her and smirked as they touched noses. 

“Well, if I can’t return home with the boys... I might as well return home with the power to fight back.” Fight back? She didn’t have a chance to even try and voice the question and Diana leaned forward and kissed her. She shut her eyes, feeling the need to bite her lips, but finding no muscles in her face listening to her mental commands anymore. What had Diana done to her?! She didn’t want to enjoy it, in fact she didn’t despite every single nerve in her body was flaring in excitement and pleasure as Diana kissed her. She felt her energy drain slowly, but forcefully from her body. It wasn’t at all like when she’d been surprised by Sam.... tempted by Erik... or even offered it up freely to Matthew. Diana was obviously using her magic to force the energy out of her body. It seemed like forever, but finally, Diana pulled away from the kiss with a smiled and a lick of her lips. She lowered Mika back onto the patio and chuckled. For some reason, even though nothing seemed to have changed, she looked stronger; powerful. It was almost like looking at a new Diana. Was this the power of the energy she had inside her? Was this what Matthew might have looked like after taking her energy if she hadn’t passed out? Diana stepped back off of the railing, making her instinctively catch her breath in her throat. As she took another step away, she looked to simply be walking on the night air and smirked at the sudden surprise on Mika’s face. 

“May you never regret your choice, human. If you do, I’ll happily come and take it away.” With a flick of her hair, Diana turned and walked away into the night, fading into the darkness like a shadow. Mika watched her fade away before looking back to the man in her bed. Did she make the right choice? She couldn’t stop the question from forming. Her heart gave a gentle thump as she looked at Matthew, answering the question that had formed in her mind. There was no doubt now.

“I did... and I will never regret it for as long as I live...” She spoke, as if speaking to the demoness who was no longer there. She felt chilled now, she walked back inside and gently crawled back into bed and within the embrace of the safest arms she knew. She snuggled close to the warmth, her body slowly warming as it seeped into her, before closing her eyes. She was happy. 


	22. Path I Have Choosen

The rest of the story can almost be passed over, really. With Diana gone, my life returned to normal with school and none of my classmates or the teachers remembering what had happened. It was as if magic had never even appeared in my world. It was the normalcy that I had come to expect even before the boys had come into my life. One thing was for certain, however: Matthew loved me and I loved him just as much. We had promised our lives to each other and nothing was going to take that away from us, not even time itself... as I had come to learn from grandfather’s journals there was a spell that could overcome that, more or less, by tying our two souls together so that where one went, the other would follow. Our love was so powerful, it practically overwhelmed me with joy every time I found him holding me close every morning. Every time he looked my way I felt a thrill of happiness. Even just hearing his voice. To think: a demon in love with a human like me. It was unthinkable, unbelievable. It was practically impossible. But it was true. Eventually the other boys decided to leave of their own accord. They knew that in the future I would only need Matthew at my side, so they each decided to start their own lives in the human world. Matthew understood perfectly, as I knew he would,  wishing his brothers the best. Besides, Matthew had proven to be a man, to them, by finding someone to care for. His brothers didn’t need to worry about him now that he was caring for me. I couldn’t help but feel bad, as well, for being closer to Matthew than the others, but they all reassured me that it was okay and that they would remain nearby should I ever need them. I was happy for that. Even if Matthew was the closest to me, I still felt close to the others too, like I had gained a family. They made me promise, however, that I would love Matthew for as long as we lived. That was a promise I gave instantly... but what of my future? Well, it was kinda made for me. Before I even finished the semester, James decided to step into the light of the Anderson Toys Company and, with the help of his demon powers and leadership charisma, he managed to influence not only the entire board, but my father as well into letting him run for CEO. I was beyond shocked to hear all this. How James managed to all that, especially in such a short time, was beyond me, but when the vote was called, James had taken over the company that I was ‘destined’ to have. He vowed to respect the wishes of the late CEO and helped the company become an even grander company. For a demon, it was simple to make a company grand. I didn’t mind, honestly, how things turned out. My grandfather would have been proud to see how James helped it shine. With the CEO position filled, her father had no choice but to let me decide my future, which made me happy beyond compare. No longer would I have the future scaring me into a corner; I could choose my life on my own. That being said, I was still scared of where the future was going to take me. What did I want to do? Did I want to help James build the company? Did I want to venture off on my own? Matthew reassured me, even before my classes ended, that he would support me and help me through whatever I decided to do. I was grateful and would never forget that promise. I was happy, and nothing could shake me down from that happiness. 

 

One afternoon, a couple of years after the boys and Mika had met, she had a moment to herself; so she wandered her house and took in all that had happened, as if it were all a dream. The demons, the devils, the magic: it was all too surreal to believe. It almost frightened her to think that it could have been all a dream. That it wasn’t real, but the warm feeling in her heart reminded her that it was all real: the demons, the magic, the love she had... all of it was **real** . She smiled to herself as she held her hands to her chest, relishing in the feelings dancing within her heart and soul. She let out a happy sigh before looking up and seeing where she had actually wandered to. She realized she was standing in the dining room. She stopped at the smell of something having been baked. Taking a gigantic whiff, she let the smell of sugar and sweets feel her senses. 

“Mmmm...” Matthew must be baking again. She tiptoed over and peekd into the kitchen, wanting to know what he was making. 

“Almost done...” He muttered to himself, a look of intense concentration on his face. She watched as he started to decorate a cake, that was already wonderful looking, with blue and white icing. It looked delicious; she was practically salivating where she stood. As she watched him, however, she smiled. He look so intensely concentrated on his work that he didn’t notice her; it was adorable. 

“Aaaand... there! Perfect!” He smiled as he stepped back from the cake, allowing her to see his masterpiece in full. It was indeed perfect looking and she wanted a taste... and soon. 

“That looks amazing, Matthew.” 

“Hu-bu-WAH!?” She almost giggled at his surprise as he spun around, trying to hide the cake while she laughed at his antics. 

“W-Wha..., I-I-I’m not done! I-I mean-” 

“Matthew.” Obviously he hadn’t meant for her to see it now, but it wasn’t like she could unsee it. She walked over to him and smiled, giving him a gentle kiss before walking around him to the cake. Upon closer inspection it looked all the more scrumptious.

“What is this for?”  

“Ahh, well, I mean, it’s for something pretty important.” Important? She looked over at Matthew, raising an eyebrow as he wrapped an arm around her waist. 

“What is it for?” 

“Guess! I’ll give you three chances!” He smiled. 

“Or what? What if I don’t get it right?” There was always a catch to everything, not always with him... but just in life in general. 

“Then the cake is all mine!” He seemed to grin wider at this. 

“Hey! No fair!!” She instinctively wanted to pull away, but Matthew laughed and dabbed some whipped cream on her nose from a nearby decorating spatula. 

“It’s totally fair! Now, just guess!” Well, okay. First she wiped the bit of whipped cream off and ate it as she thought; she wondered if he had purposely done that. It reminded her of the first time she had begun to really feel something for him. That had been the day right after they had first met... it had been here too, they’d been cooking deserts for the party and he’d timidly wiped something from her face. Brushing aside the thought, and her blush, as best as she could, she began to think of what could be important.

“Hmmm... is it... your birthday?” Even after two years, she hadn’t pinned down that exact date yet in her mind; not that he hadn’t told her, but she just hadn’t been able to memorize it. She wasn’t the best when it came to remembering dates for things. That was why she kept a calendar. Matthew shook his head. There was something important about this week... something that she remembered seeing, but what was it? 

“Nope! Second guess!” She had half a mind to scoop up some of the nearby whipped cream and dab it on him for sounding so cheery... but instead she turned her thoughts inward. What HAD she seen on the calendar? What was it she was forgetting? 

“Is it... an anniversary?” He nodded, but before she could cheer at her success he rotated one hand, gesturing for her to continue.

“Anniversary of...?” Well shoot. She could memorize facts and lessons, but dates she was bad at. It was like asking a girly-girl when her boyfriend’s frat party was. She struggled with that one. What would he consider important enough to mark as an anniversary on a calendar? His first day in the human world? Meeting her grandfather? He laughed before he kissed her cheek, making her puffed up cheeks deflate... not that she’d noticed she’d even done that. 

“It’s the anniversary of when we first met.” He said with a smile. OH! Oh... She had practically forgotten that was today, but he was right. It had been a couple of years since she had moved in and met Matthew and his brothers. He’d thrown a party last year for it. How could she have forgotten? Time definitely flew. She turned to look at him then.

“Matthew...” He smiled at her, making her heart flutter and squeeze a little. She nearly wanted to squee in happiness. 

“I wanna celebrate it every year in a different way. Next year will be something extraordinary! For now, though, this cake will do.” She quickly pulled Matthew’s head down and kissed him sweetly; wanting to show her appreciation with a kiss. When it ended, he stared at her as if his greatest wish had come true. She had to fight off a giggle at the sight, because he was just too cute... Matthew gently pulled her to him, hugging her to him. She nuzzled into his chest, hearing his gentle heartbeat and memorizing its tempo as best as possible. 

“I love you.” 

“I love you t-” Before she could finish, suddenly the cake, which had been sitting silently and peacefully on the counter, exploded into a giant mess. Matthew, luckily, was quick enough to pull them back before they got hit by large pieces of flying cake. 

“What the?!!” I was just as baffled as he was, cake just didn’t explode like that... as she looked over at the cake though she could see a very mischievous little creature standing over the cake, triumphant at what it had done. She knew that little creature and began to laugh a little as Matthew grew red-faced.

“SIMON TABBY!!!!!!!!” The one toy he’d ever made that seemed to be out of his control, or so he’d said once. She quickly rushed over and grabbed Simon, who make a “squeak’ noise in her hands. She was still giggling as Matthew came over and glared daggers at the little white doll covered in cake. After all, Simon was hers; Matthew had given him to her to calm her down. To calm Matthew down, however, she stretched up on her toes and kissed him softly on the lips. He stared, but kissed back, not wanting to let her go without a kiss of her own. 

“I love you, Matthew.” He sighed before smiling at her, finally calm again. 

“I love you too...” 

 

If this was a dream, I didn’t want to wake up; I felt light as a feather, not wanting to ever let go of this man in my life. There are no words that could describe the emotions within me. I felt joy,  happiness, ecstatic, high... all at once. Here I was, with the man I would be with forever, with cake I would delight in... even in pieces. I had gained the heart of a demon- no, of a man I loved. I vowed to cherish him and love him for the remainder of my days and beyond. Could a demon love a human forever? I knew Matthew would. And, even if they don’t exist really... that was my “happily ever after.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ends here, I know there are "extra episodes" and my plan is to add them on the end of these when I can (when they are released or when ever I get my hands on them... as I'm not sure how to obtain them yet). 
> 
> [if you didn't realize it, Matthew is my favorite and is why I did his path first]


End file.
